Torn Apart
by HeCallsMeHisChild
Summary: An MSA Ghost fanfic. Just Legends story 3. One chance. One last chance to save the youngest Pepper from the curse that has claimed two lives and stained a third with blood. Arthur is losing himself piecemeal to the remnants of the Shiker within, Vivi has never been less steady, and Lewis can barely hang onto who he is. Will their efforts be enough to save Dulcie?
1. A Plague on Both Your Houses

"Where do you think you're going?"

Arthur would have laid his ears back if he could, but he had no wish to go through the pain of transformation for something as petty as a physical gesture of irritation. "I don't _think_ I'm going somewhere Lewis. I _am_ _going_ somewhere." He checked once more under the van's hood before slamming it down.

"Where?"

"You're not my mother," he growled, circling to the driver's side. "Neither of you are."

"Arthur-"

"I'm going back to the cave," he snarled. "You all left very quickly and there are some important things and people left behind. Obviously you won't be going back, so I will."

"If you're talking about Chloe and Duet," Vivi stepped in front of the door, blocking his path. "They're already here. Mystery is trying to tend Chloe. She's sick. Duet is being held downstairs until we can question him."

Arthur went very still, his eyes narrow. "The dungeons, huh? Damn you, Vivi, still jumping all around without the pieces."

His words struck hard. Vivi's posture wilted momentarily, then straightened as her eyes flashed a hard pink. "And what were we supposed to do? They crashed on our porch and you were unconscious. If you have any information for us, now would be a good time to give it! So Chloe is a unicorn? Fine. But that's all we know. What happened back there?"

Arthur's lips pulled back as he fought to keep his anger under control. "Listen. All I really _feel_ like telling you right now is that I'm going back for something Solo left behind. And I swear to every god, Vivi, if you make fun of that name I will never speak to you again. You have no idea what that creature has gone through."

Vivi's body sagged further, and Arthur shoved her away from the door. "You already did, didn't you? Fine. But have the decency to put him back with Chloe. He sacrificed everything for her." The temperature in the room rose, and he paused, not turning around. "Don't even look at me like that, Lewis Pepper. I don't know what this is, but it's not a friendship and it hasn't been a team for a long time. So don't bother trying to fix it now. I'm taking Uncle Lance home and going to the cave. I'll be back when I feel like I can stand seeing your face again."

The tips of Vivi's hair snuffed out, smoke rising as she fumbled her way to a crate, sitting hard. Arthur jerked the door open and slid into the driver's seat. Lance glanced over from the passenger's seat. "Little harsh, Artie."

"Don't care right now." Arthur twisted the key, blinking as the side door slid open and then shut again. "What the-" He turned back, coming nose to nose with Mystery. "Not a good time."

"Never will be a good time." Mystery settled down on the middle seats. "You need someone to ground you once you return your Uncle."

Lance's expression relaxed. "First sensible thing I've heard outta the dog's mouth. Though I don't get why I can't stay, Artie."

Grinding his teeth, Arthur revved the engine. The wall ahead of him parted, allowing him to drive out of the mansion and onto the road. "All hell broke loose, Uncle Lance. And we're going to have to go through a lot more hell shortly. I can take it now. Vivi can take it. Mystery's fine. You're the only mortal with nothing to back you up right now."

"C'mon, kid. Don't toss my wrestling gold off that easy."

Arthur paused, the corner of his lip twitching up.

"Kid, I know you're worried about me. But I'm worried about you. Yeah, I don't have a lot to take into this fight, but you sure I can't do something? Anything?"

Arthur kept his eyes on the road.

"Artie. I can't lose you."

His throat was too tight. Swallowing, he cleared it hard. "What's left of me, Uncle Lance. I'm not… I'm not ever going to be the same Arthur you raised."

They drove in silence as Arthur let Lance digest his statement. Arthur plugged his phone into the dashboard charger he'd modded in the year before, setting his course from wherever-they-were to Kingsmen Mechanics.

"Yer still Artie," Lance harrumphed, crossing beefy arms. "Nothing's gonna change that, kid. I get it. Crap happens and yer life's different f'rever now, but yer still Artie deep down."

Nothing was going to shake his uncle. Perhaps he should be grateful someone would always be in his corner. But it was just going to break his uncle the day something went wrong. Returning to Lance's earlier question, he responded, "What you can do, Uncle Lance, is try and minimize whatever damage is being done to our reputations as a whole. Anybody involved. Try to downplay whatever's going on. It would be nice if we could actually come back when this is over."

Lance snorted. "Gonna be hard, kid. I was there when Lewis up-and-whisked-outta the nuthouse wit' Vivi. Pepper kid and I were there as witness, with Ma' Pepper singin' up the hall. Not ta mention the lockdown on Juvie Hall fer reasons they won't say why, but I got guesses."

Arthur's jaw squared. "Do what you can. That's what I need from you. And for the love of all gods, keep yourself safe. I need someone to come back for."

Lance eyed him oddly. "You never really were much one fer gods, Artie."

"Yeah. Well. A lot changed. Call the Pepper house, maybe Mr. Pepper can tell us something."

Lance pulled out his cell and dialed as instructed. "No dice, voicemail only."

Arthur fixed his eyes on the road. Still a ways out, but the area wasn't mountainous. All cell signals were decent. "Got data?"

"Enough."

"Check the news."

Lance fiddled with his phone, and Arthur settled his foot a little harder on the pedal. Whatever spirit-energy-junk Lewis had filled the tank with had to last him back to town. He hoped the engine could take it until he got some real honest to goodness gasoline in the tank.

"Artie. Pepper Paradiso's under red tape, city front page news. Mr. and Mrs. Pepper called in fer questions."

"Don't suppose they say why."

"Comments got rumor mills up the wazoo, see coupl'a mentions 'bout some kinda sonic weapon."

The pedal hit the floor. "Fantastic. I leave to drop off my uncle and pick up crap from the cave, I get involved in a full scale jailbreak."

"Whoah, what now? Who said anythin' 'bout a jailbreak, Artie?"

"I need Mrs. Pepper."

"You may need Mrs. Pepper, but ye can't jus' go bustin' her! I can't cover yer arse fer that!"

Arthur scowled, fingers drumming on the steering wheel. He could go full kitsune and knock the police HQ down. He'd probably wake up in a lab somewhere, wired to more tech than he could shake a stick at.

"I strongly suggest we do what you came here to do," Mystery interjected from the back. "And then return to the mansion. The mansion itself is a brilliant asset in regards to more subtle jailbreaks."

Arthur's scowl lifted, his shoulders relaxing.

Lance released a breath through his teeth. "I take it all back, mutt. Yer face is helpful."

…..

It was a quick visit to Kingsmen Mechanics. Uncle Lance unloaded himself, sending Arthur off with extra tools and an earful about getting back in one piece. With Mystery in the passenger seat and a full tank of gas, Arthur sped the van over black asphalt, following painted white lines toward the place that had seen his life fall to ruin.

Occasionally, Arthur's eyes slid sideways to the dog sitting calmly next to him. Mystery hadn't so much as looked at him since claiming that spot, but Arthur could feel the other assessing him. Trying to figure him out. Find a weakness, maybe. Pinpoint which pack member it could have been.

"If you hold the steering wheel any harder, you'll have to replace it," Mystery's calm reprimand jerked him out of his thoughts. The perfect circle was bent inward, the cover burnt and cracked off and the metal beneath red hot. Oddly enough, he didn't feel the heat at all.

"Do you remember why he took you in the first place, Arthur?" Mystery asked, his voice soft.

Arthur's teeth ground together.

"Arthur. You will feed the corruption he left behind with your rage. Speak it."

His throat was on fire, his lungs full of smoke. His tongue crawled with words in a language that could wither souls. He dragged the memory of Kay's final, choked breaths through his mind, over and over, until the rage drowned to numbness.

"Anger. He came to me through anger. And then it happened again."

"And when did you transform, Arthur?"

"When Kay's dead body was pulled from my arms. Then I saw her murderer." But he kept his thoughts fixed on Kay. "Is that something you feed off of? Anger?"

Mystery turned his head slightly. Arthur's eyes narrowed as he sorted through thoughts related to his question. "No. It's strong emotion that's wanted. Because you don't have your own, do you?"

Mystery's ear flicked.

"Does Vivi know?" Arthur snorted. "That's a stupid question. Nobody knows anything, do they? And they don't tell and they don't talk, and this is why we've never been a team. And me? I know everything I ever wanted to know." He swallowed down bile in his throat. "Like having my very own spirit-world search engine in my head. And I wish I'd never been born. And yet somehow, this is all still my fault. Why is that? Oh. Because I was angry."

Mystery glanced at him sidelong. "So what are you going to do about it now?"

The driver's seat erupted in green flame, curling around Arthur's body as he wrenched the van over to the side of the road and threw it in park. " _What am I going to do about it now?"_ The van rattled around him. "Why should I have to do anything? I don't owe them one. More. Ounce. Of effort. The only reason I'm doing anything anymore is for the memory of Kay and hope for Dulcie. But _please_ , tell me more about what _I should be doing!_ It's not like trying to do things for this family has _destroyed_ me!"

Mystery's fur curled back from the heat, but he didn't flinch. "Difficult, isn't it? Painful to be reminded of things that weren't your fault, but happened to you anyway."

Arthur toyed with the idea of ripping out one of Mystery's tails. He'd done it before, he could do… it… again…. He shook his head slowly, rubbing his eyes with the heels of his hands. The flames simmered out, leaving him sitting in a heap of charred fluff, barely attached to a metal frame.

"What happened to you wasn't your fault. What happened to Lewis wasn't his." Mystery lifted a hind leg to scratch behind his ear. "I notice you both have trouble lashing out when it gets bad enough, though."

"I think I have a right," Arthur growled.

"So does Lewis. And Vivi, for that matter."

Arthur rolled his eyes, pitching his voice mockingly. "Yeah, well, Vivi can't help herself."

Mystery's paws landed in his lap, red eyes filling Arthur's vision. "No, Arthur. At a certain point she can't. And I'll thank you to leave her care to me."

"Well you've been doing a marvelous job, letting her run you the way you have. Just fantastic. Whatever happened to moderating her moods?" The connection flashed through his mind and he nearly set the van on fire a second time. "You're not just moderating her moods. You're siphoning them off. You siphon off the energy every bit as much as Meynung Shiker. Pretending you're better than the Mind Drinker?" Arthur's lips curled. "That's low."

"There is a vast difference between what he did and what I do." Mystery's teeth clicked together at the end of each sentence. "You know better than that. I could drain her flat in seconds if I wanted. That's what _he_ did. Their memories were ingredients, but their emotions were wine, and he guzzled it down. I would _never_ do that to Vivi."

"No. You'd just let her think you're a normal dog and get her to trust you to take care of her in a vulnerable state. And she _still_ doesn't understand what you're doing." Arthur shrugged coldly. "No biggie."

Mystery opened his mouth, then shut it, turning to face forward again. There was silence in the van as Arthur started it up and pulled back onto the road.

Apartment complexes gave way to businesses gave way to residential outskirts gave way to gas stations and cheap diners gave way to deserted road. It was a blur Arthur was all too familiar with by now. The cave was not far off.

"You're right."

Arthur glanced to the side.

"You're right. And I will tell her." Mystery's ear twitched. "It isn't the same, Arthur. I only take the worst that keeps her from thinking clearly."

"Yeah, and you've done a fantastic job of that lately."

His ears flattened. "It's not exactly easy to concentrate given the circumstances, Arthur. If I am not careful I will do exactly what you're accusing me of without even intending to. If it comes down to wringing her dry or letting her swing, I'll let her swing every time. She's still Vivi, and she'll always stay Vivi that way."

Arthur forced his grip on the steering wheel to loosen. Mystery wasn't the enemy. And he'd never invaded Arthur's mind without permission.

"How long before you forgive them?"

His fingers relocked themselves. _Never_ , he wanted to say. But he wasn't sure of that. Yet.

"You'll have to work with them to get what you want. Even the ones that are still holding out information."

Arthur took a slow breath in through his nostrils, releasing it through his mouth. "Yeah. I'm headed back to the cave to break the last holdout. The Shiker kept something there that I'll need to get Mrs. Pepper to talk." He pinched the bridge of his nose momentarily, bracing against a dull throb behind his eyes. "Not to mention paying a debt to Solo."

"Solo?" Mystery inquired.

"Later. I can't right now, not when I'll have to repeat it to everyone when we get back." Arthur pulled the van up to the mouth of the cave, setting the parking brake and removing the key. He hoped he wouldn't be there long.

He stepped out of the van, his shoes crunching in the gravel. There was a low breeze carrying the musty cave-innards smell with it as it passed. Rock. Stale dripwater.

Blood and saltwater.

His head jerked up a second before Mystery's. That smell was fresh, not dried on the rocks. Still breathing.

His vision went red.

….

 **Note:** Getting the party started! And now, just to mark where we are canon-wise to everyone, "Freaking Out" was released. Obviously sister canon got smashed hard, but hey, it's okay. This is an AU, and I'm still having a blast. Who's ready for round three? One brief note I want to say, in all seriousness. I worry sometimes that people may think I introduce character death as a shock factor. While it is true I enjoy the reaction people have (because it means I got them to care for someone in the story) I do not kill off characters for the heckuvit. There is always a reason behind it, though sometimes that reason is simply, "It's what would happen in that situation." Warning you of this because, well, we're not quite done with the funerals. Chapter title excerpted from **The Driver** by Bastille.


	2. The Last Unicorn

_You were doing so well, weren't you? Almost settled for a moment. But you know that scent._

 _Your bones are sprouting tiny spikes. This is what it feels like, like first time you chased her. Pain eats through every organ and muscle as they rip themselves larger, but most especially in the bones._

 _You are on your hands and the tips of your toes, tearing down the lower path like an animal. You aren't an animal. Not quite. You could be. Let go a little more._

 _But you hold on. You want to see her face, watch her scream. This is enjoyable. The pain keeps you hanging onto yourself, even as you shake the cavern with your rage._

 _Where there was only grief, there is now fear in the air. She is close._

 _You need no light. You are your own light, green flame wreathing your body as you charge in among the stalagmites. You smell the blood. The old, old blood. The freshly dried blood. The blood mixed with tears and sickness. Mixed with ocean spray._

 _And there she is, crouched among bloodspattered golden feathers and scarlet plumes. She turns on a heel, her eyes gleaming. Teetering. Ruby flowers wreath her neck and sprout along the creeper vines that tangle between her fingers._

 _Her hands are full of golden feathers._

 _You are on her in a breath, your flesh hand gripping her jaw so tight that red trickles from her face. No. You have claws. Your hand isn't looking as much like your hand anymore, and the flames singe her skin._

 _Rip her face off._

 _Crisp her until she stops screaming._

 _Pluck her every feather and throw her from the ceiling._

 _Tear her throat open._

 _You are shaking with all the ways you could spill her life onto the rocks around you._

 _She isn't fighting you. She shuts her eyes, her hands clutching the feathers more tightly._

 _She doesn't_ deserve _to hold those feathers! You tear them from her fingers, screaming "Murderer!" into her face, though it is more of a roar than a scream._

 _The smells are all over her now that you are close. All the smells humans expel when they die. Not just Kay dead, no. How else could she leave a prison? And we coaxed her so perfectly._

 _The blooms at her throat, her victims on the way out of prison. The blooms at her fingertips…_

 _Your eyes drop to your own arms. The vines are so thick around your own arms now, you can hardly see flesh through them, if it is still flesh. You have been there for the fall of every Pepper child. You have been involved. You didn't mean to. You didn't want to._

"Why couldn't you just die?" she choked.

Arthur's eyelids sank shut for a moment, opening slowly. His throat hurt. His bones hurt. Someone was smashing boulders around his brain. He crouched over Aji, who cowered against a rocky outcropping. His hands were his own, and they were full of feathers.

His lungs pressed flat with a wheeze.

"It was supposed to be you," she sobbed. "Just you. Nobody else. Why couldn't you just…"

He pressed the feathers against his face, rocking back to a sitting position. He dragged in deep breaths through the plumage, drawing pieces of himself back together with her scent and the downy touch of Kay's earthly remains. And there was just the sound of Arthur's ragged breathing and Aji's grief.

"Why… not… just me?" he asked. "Couldn't… you stop?"

Her moans cut deep. _The second one to kill and rage._ Everyone had assumed it would be him, but the curse never specified Arthur Kingsmen. If he'd just been quicker to understand, perhaps even Aji's curse could have been mitigated. The Shiker-He-had driven her to fury. The few seconds of Kay's battle cries had been like talons slicing through his brain. No doubt Juvie Hall's red tape was to buy time to figure out how to explain several dozen unexplainable deaths. Security footage would tie Aji to the "sonic weapon" if the footage itself didn't kill off investigators.

Mrs. Pepper. Lance had said Mrs. Pepper had come to the mental hospital, singing up the hall. She had come trailing Dulcie, most likely. But why singing?

She'd already expressed she was ready to be caught. To bring it to an end. Was she covering for Aji?

Arthur picked himself up, weaving on his feet. Slowly, he bend to gather the gold feathers, stuffing them in his vest. His arm panel. His jeans pockets. He wouldn't leave a single one behind.

"What now?" Aji's voice was rickety, shaken. "Are you going to kill me too?"

Arthur turned away from her. He couldn't stand the sight of her face. Raising a hand, he lit his palm with green fire, searching the shadows. There, peering at him from behind a spire, a pair of yellow spectacles glinted in the dark.

 _Why does he cower? He could have stopped me._

"Bring her up to speed, Mystery." Arthur was shocked by the fatigue in his own voice. "I have to get something, and I can't handle talking about everything one more time." He turned, heading toward the back of the cave.

Back through the narrow stone passage, out to the open air plot of land behind. The compound hidden behind the cave. Arthur's first stop was a blackened tree, stabbing twisted, barren branches at the sky. What he needed was buried deeper than he had tools to dig with, and for a moment he wished he'd brought Mystery. He didn't want to transform, it was too painful. Did he have magic enough to bring it to the surface?

No. A quick mental scouring informed him this was not among his abilities. But then, he had to change anyway, didn't he?

He recoiled. No. Not if he didn't have to. He headed toward the stables. There would be tools there. A shovel, maybe. And he could retrieve the living unicorn at the same time. It wasn't too late for Solo. Between Mystery and Vivi, surely they could restore him-or her?-to the body.

He swung the doors open, trying not to think too hard about the last time he was there, but his skin crawled with the memory of being controlled. Puppetted. Wrung out and drunk from the inside out.

Mystery wanted him calm because his anger had fed the Shiker. But his anger had also saved him. If he hadn't had that store of anger, he would have been sucked dry of everything within hours.

There were no children left to save. The Shiker had been waiting to finish business with the Mystery Skulls before bringing in fresh flesh. Once Arthur buried the dead unicorn and led the living one out, he would collapse the cavern. No one should know what happened in this place.

He swung open the stall he had last stumbled past, and his fingernails sank into the wood. The unicorn on the right lay with head drooped against the first, its flank still. Just as he had left it. But now the one on the left lay sprawled on its side, its mouth open and great, thick tongue protruding. Neither moved.

"Solo," Arthur murmured, stricken. "What have you done?"

…...

"Ruined everything. Ruined everything. Ruined everything." Vivi's lips moved over and over. She didn't think it was Lewis talking, but she didn't feel much like it was her either. The words kept tumbling out, caught in a loop. There he was, lifting her fingers to her lips, trying to dam up the words somehow.

She appreciated the thought. She would if she could. Or at least, she thought she would. Could she? Everything was on its head and there she sat, suffocating.

"Ruined everything. Ruined everything."

One thought knocked desperately against the darkness, halting the spiral. Chloe was safe. Dying, of course, but safe. And Duet-Solo? Solo was there. What did Arthur say? Bring Solo to Chloe.

She didn't trust Solo.

Lewis didn't trust him either. But Mystery had only managed to bring her fever down by a couple of degrees. Solo knew Chloe best, so he was her only shot.

"What if I ruin it again by doing something?" Vivi's fingers knotted in her skirt. "I've ruined everything so far."

 _Have to keep trying._

"I can't. I can't." Vivi sank her face into her hands, wretched. There she sat while Chloe lay violently ill, and she couldn't work up the will to move.

"Let me?" The question came gently and she immediately gave way, relinquishing control. Lewis stretched out, standing to their feet, and walking toward the door that appeared in the back of the garage. A picture materialized in their mind, an image of what lay beyond the door. It was a pitch black room, vast and empty. One would have to walk for several minutes to find a wall, if one was brave enough to do so in the dark. There was where Lewis had deposited Solo.

He opened the door, stepping into the darkness. Deadbeats swooped in, circling and radiating soft pink light.

Something scrambled in the dark, and Vivi's hands came up full of flames. The sound ceased, and Solo's voice, hoarse and cracked, echoed from just beyond the reach of the light.

"Is she dead?"

"No." Lewis lifted her hands and took a step forward. Solo's outline came into view, hunched over and cradling his hands. More light revealed the one Lewis had crushed, but the other was missing chunks of flesh at the wrist. Neither could be properly used, and Lewis relaxed slightly. "But she's very sick."

"We tried to help her," Vivi murmured past him. "Nothing we bring helps. No shock."

To their surprise, Solo's reply was soft, "You've done your best. But please, bring me to her."

"You can heal her?" Lewis asked, wary.

"Yes. Please."

"After you're done, we're going to have a long talk," Lewis warned. "I want to know everything."

Solo's lips twisted. "All will be explained. Please. Chloe."

Lewis turned and shut the door they had come through. He brought to mind the image of the room they had left Chloe in, with Dulcie nearby. They had laid Chloe in a bed fit for a queen, with down purple comforters and mounds of feather pillows to prop her up. Dulcie had been given a book of fairytales and asked to read to the unicorn princess in her sleep. She'd pulled up a chair, all too happy to oblige.

Twisting the knob, Lewis opened the door and stepped into the room he had pictured moments before. Dulcie glanced up, trailing off in the middle of a sentence as Solo followed. In better light, Lewis and Vivi could see teeth marks sunk deep into both sides of the other wrist. Solo kept both hands limply rested on opposing forearms.

Crossing to Chloe's bed, he sat on the edge. Dulcie shut the book and scooted her chair back, shooting Vivi a questioning look.

Vivi focused on Solo's movements, watching for signs of aggression. He bent forward, ever so slightly, his eyes fixed on Chloe's face. Sweat beaded her milkwhite skin. A fresh bandage had been wrapped around her forehead, obscuring the hole, but it seeped a vile pink ring through the gauze. Her gold ringlets plastered wet and flat around her head. Her chest jerked in its rise and fall, as if struggling to continue.

Solo licked his lips once. Swallowed. His lips parted, but no sound came out. It came to Vivi that his face was full of an unbearable tenderness. After a few attempts, he began to speak.

"Once upon a time," he whispered, "There was a herd. The herd lived safe and free and knew nothing of fear, because they were protected. They trusted in that protection, and so lived and laughed and loved. They roamed the forests and plains and meadows of another realm. Often, their mere presence was enough to deter dark works and cruel assaults on weaker beings, for all knew the dire consequences of harming such a herd, and no dark creature wished to even begin to engage them.

"Herds were housed and adopted by the gods themselves. That was their protection. The gods' wrath was the deterrent to their harm. The goddess whose land the herd claimed as home was distant and cool, but they did not care. They did not require the affection of the gods, only their protection.

"One day the goddess came and spoke urgently to the herd. There was an evil work about to be done. The most terrible thing that could be done. Please, she said, the herd must go to the place where this work was about to take place. Surely it would fall apart at their presence. Would they go and do this thing for her?

"Of course they would. She was their protector. Their trusted one. Where were they to be sent, they asked? To the mortal realm. Only for a few moments, they were assured. It would take no longer than that to dispel the evil.

"It made sense. The gods no longer dabbled in the mortal realm. They had sealed themselves away so mortals and immortals could not wreak havoc on each other, for mortal desperation and passion has often divided the gods among themselves, and the gods nearly destroyed mortals many times over. And so the herd followed her and stepped into the mortal realm. A herd of five, with one mare nearly ready to drop a foal. So confident that their mere presence would ward off whatever horror they had been sent to disband.

"The goddess led them on the path that she could see and the herd could not, and at the end of the path they crossed between realms." And here, Solo bent over Chloe further, resting a crushed hand against her cheek. "All in the herd were granted the ability to cross, should they find a path. A gift only the gods have, and only the gods can give.

"But she had not followed to show them the path to return, and the realms sealed away from each other. And there was the beast, and it did not cower. It did not quail. It did not turn and run. It stood there, as if it had been expecting them. And the herd knew fear for the first time."

Vivi wasn't sure when she'd sat down, or when Dulcie had come to perch on her lap, but she wrapped her arms around Dulcie, entranced by the tale.

"The herd was five and the beast one, but the beast was cunning. Even as they attacked, the beast brought out a boy. Nearly a man, but not quite a man. The beast drew out from the boy his soul and sucked it dry before the herd's eyes. They had never conceived of such a thing, and in their moment of horror, the beast turned on them, drawing out the soul of every member of the herd. Each soul passed through the jaws of the beast and back out, pouring into the body of the boy.

"And so there were five pressed together into one vessel, and they could hardly move themselves. The beast lifted them up and carried them in their new vessel, the bodies following as mindless creatures. As long as the souls of the herd survived, so would the bodies, but as perfect, docile slaves. The herd could not will their bodies to do anything, they could scarcely understand the vessel they had been forced into.

"The beast chained the vessel that housed the herd, as if they could even move toward escape. He led their true bodies nearby and set them to rest. Then he cut off their horns and took the horns away. And the herd fell into despair.

"The despair turned to desperation when the mare dropped her foal, but the beast did not remove the foal's soul from her body. Instead, he locked a cursed jewel to her neck and turned her loose in a paddock, holding her safety in front of the herd as assurance that they would not try to escape. But just to be sure, he bound them with a jewel also. It could not be removed, save by the beast, and he used the jewels to grow something terrible.

"After a time, the herd learned to move their new vessel. They named themselves Quintet, for they were five in one. Sometimes the foal was brought to the bodies of the herd by the beast. He told her terrible things, frightening her that she would one day join them if she did not do as she was bid. Saying how he would kill them, her family, if she ever disobeyed. He allowed her to sleep among their bodies sometimes, listening to their heartbeats and nuzzling their necks and flanks. Quintet watched, but said nothing. How could he add to the hell she had been born into? She could never know what had been done to them.

"Quintet could not tell the passage of time, locked away. Sometimes the beast bred the herd together, but no foal took. Though Quintet grieved every miscarriage, he was glad they could not bring new life into this prison. And so the foal grew, and her horn began to show. She began to display signs of healing magic, a gift of her kind. And Quintet began to fear for her. He was afraid that the beast would take their foal and harvest her horn, as he did every few months to the bodies of the herd. Something had to be done.

"Quintet coaxed one of the human children who groomed the empty shells to unlock the chains. With his freedom, he rushed to the paddock, threw his arms around the foal's neck, and called on a form of magic not fully understood by their kind to save her.

"He thought, perhaps, that if she were to be changed into something that was not a unicorn, she would be safe. She would be useless to the beast, and perhaps the cursed jewel would fall off because she was not what it had been bonded to. The magic was foreign, and he did not know how to wield it properly. He had never heard such terrible screams, and they were coming from her. His child.

"When Quintet had done the thing, there was a deep void within him. Three of five were no more. Without their true body to hold fast to, the magic came straight from the souls themselves. They were gone. Expended. And then there was only Duet. The foal, now in human form. And the beast come up behind to see what had happened.

"The beast released them to wander, supplying them with what they needed to survive. The child's horn was required for harvest, now that three shells lay dead in the stables. But the beast allowed them a taste of freedom, so that in bringing themselves back they would truly be crushed and punished for Duet's folly. And they had to return, for the terrible things planted in the jewels would choke the life from them should they not return every few months for harvesting, and then replanting of the gems.

"At first, Duet sought help. The mortal realm held some few hidden magical creatures, surely one would be able to guide them back. He only needed help to find a path, that is all. If he could find a path, he could open the way home. But no magical creature would come near him, sensing the evil he had been bound to. And when the foxes attacked, he understood. He carried the souls of their kin, and he could never expect help from anyone in this realm.

Only when Dulcie squirmed did Vivi realize she had been gripping her too tightly. She loosened her grip.

"When the foal finally woke she called herself Chloe, though Duet never could find out why. She did not know him, she did not trust him. She asked where her herd was. She asked where her legs were. She cried every time she woke, asking why it hurt and wouldn't stop hurting. Duet was sick, knowing he had done this to her, and it had not even accomplished her freedom." Solo's mouth pressed into a bitter line for a moment. "He should have known. You cannot change the form of something that was not meant to be changed, bind the bones to a foreign shape, and expect it to work perfectly. She would be in pain every day of her life, as long as she kept this form.

"But he could not change her back. He had to conserve the souls he had left. He had to believe that someday there would be a chance for him to save Chloe, truly save her. But she did not trust him, and would not listen because she didn't know it was her herd.

"Memory magic requires so little energy. Concentration, yes, but little energy. And so, as she slept, Duet spent tiny bits of energy removing memories. And the next day she still did not trust him, but she wasn't sure why. And she asked where her legs were, but looked confused. And he continued to do this, day after day until she stopped asking, and trusted everything Duet said.

"He opened a store and paid for a home with the money the beast gave him, and set to learning about magic. Two kinds of magic in particular. First, how to transform creatures into other creatures. Second, the weaknesses of as many creatures as he could find, both dark and light. For who knew, but perhaps a light creature had twisted itself? He had never seen such a creature as the beast, and could not tell what it was. And if he did not know what it was, he could not attack it properly. And he would only have one chance.

"And whenever they had to return to the beast for harvest, Duet would hear Chloe's screaming. So afterward, he would remove the memories. He tried to catch them all, but some of them hid away. He covered her up and kept lights on, so she did not see her own glow as her body tried to heal itself. He treated her as human, and she believed it.

"Chloe made a friend, and Duet realized he did not understand how to run a store. He only used it to house the books he was trying to study, and people were becoming suspicious. And so Vivi joined them." Solo's eyes darted to Vivi for a moment before returning to Chloe. "She kept the store from falling apart, and Duet continued to study hard.

"He did not know that the little hidden memory pieces pushed Chloe to find help. He did not know she was contacting the only people she thought could help her. And the beast, watching everything from the cursed gems like eyes, warned Duet.

"Duet was a fool, who only understood that no one could help. Mortals, especially, had no chance against this beast. He believed his only hope was to continue on as they had always done, so that one day he would discover the true nature of the beast. So he obeyed, going to find Chloe. The beast sent helpers for Duet, the drained souls of humans, to ensure the return of his prize possessions.

"But this time the beast kept them. He had allowed them enough freedom, and it was decided that Duet and Chloe would remain in chains.

"And Duet knew how utterly he had failed his child. He knew it every time he heard her screams in the hall and her panic over her legs. And nobody would save them.

"And then the last person Duet thought could help walked in. A friend of Vivi's known as Arthur. The beast would take puppets sometimes, a new one for every harvest. Human hands were much more suited to the work, he claimed. Now," Solo lifted his head. "If he had changed forms, Duet would have been much closer to knowing what he was. So he could not do so. But many creatures can possess, and so he took human puppets to harvest us. But Arthur did not act like the puppets. The beast was drunk and reeling, as if Arthur fed the beast what it wanted freely. As if he was _trying_ to intoxicate it. And intoxicated, the beast did not realize it when Arthur told Duet its true nature.

"It was time. Armed with the knowledge of what the beast was, Duet stole the nogitsune's soul from its hiding place." He lifted the hand with the bite marks, and Vivi covered her mouth. "He ordered the gems be removed from their necks. And then he crushed the soul gem."

He lowered his hand. Grimacing, he uncurled the fingers from both hands, gasping at the pain, and placed his hands along either side of Chloe's face, cupping it gently. "And then there was Solo. And Chloe was ill. She had done a great kindness among her human friends by healing them, but the healing she gave had been meant for her, and her own body fell beyond the ability to heal itself. It was never meant to be in this form, and it was never meant to endure such cruelties."

Solo's hands began to glow with soft light, and Dulcie sucked in a little breath. Chloe moaned, her head tilting to the side.

"And Solo knew from his studying that it was easier to take a form and return it to its natural state. And he knew that in her natural state, she would be able to heal herself, her body no longer fighting a form she was trapped in. And he knew it was time to say goodbye."

Lewis jerked them to their feet with a desperate, "No!"

Solo's eyes never left Chloe's face, his fingertips stroking her cheeks as the light flowed over her body. "He knew he was leaving her in good hands. He knew they would find a way to keep her safe, here or in the other realm. He hoped that…" and here he stumbled, fighting for his words, "that she would forgive him. Because sometimes you do your best, even when it doesn't work and it's not good enough. Because it's all you have left to do."

Vivi strained against Lewis. They couldn't touch Solo. Not now. Not in the middle of a spell.

Solo leaned forward, gently pressing the bridge of his nose against the place Chloe's face had been a moment before. Now there was only white hot light. Lewis covered Dulcie's eyes and shut Vivi's, but even with her eyes shut the insides of her eyelids were full of light.

And she heard, "Live free."

And the light plunged into darkness.

…...

 **Note:** Thanks sixthdimensional for the suggestion about Mystery (which will unfold more later, vague mention here). Chapter title is the song title it was taken from.


	3. Won't Make It to the Shore Without

Everything was so very, very dark. Lewis had seen this bleakness take hold of Vivi, had seen it put her out of commission time and time again. But for the first time, he was pinned down by the weight of it all alongside her.

 _Failure._

 _Failure._

 _Failure._

At the sight of Solo's body, sprawled on the bedroom floor, her will had flared up in a cold, hard way that pushed him off to the side and didn't allow him any room. She called up Deadbeats to lift his body, but kept his head stable herself, guiding his body out of the room and downstairs. Lewis wanted to reassure Dulcie, now sitting back in the chair, knees drawn up tight and book clutched closed between white-knuckled fingers, but he couldn't break through. Vivi left her staring at the cocoon of light pulsing in the center of the bed.

A solid block rose up from the floor and the Deadbeats laid Solo's body onto it. Vivi draped his hands crosswise over his chest.

Her every motion fought through tar. Her forearms ached with the weight of inadequacy and someone had hollowed out her bones and filled them with lead. She could barely fill her own lungs. The banshee screech of her soul flung him into the tiniest crevices where he clawed for a hold, a grip, anything to keep from flickering out. Her thoughts slipped the bonds of reality and ballooned out of control, trapping him in place.

 _When Arthur comes back he'll kill me. He's not himself. He'll think this is my fault, and it is. I didn't look for details like he does. I missed the signs and steamrolled the rest._

Lewis struggled against the thoughts. Details were Arthur's deal, not Vivi's. But the pressure rose.

 _Chloe will blame me too. I didn't pick up she was calling for help soon enough. I didn't stop and plan with the team. She'll probably get depressed and stop eating and maybe die. And then Solo died for nothing at all, and then Arthur will really_ really _kill me._

Lewis tried to direct them back to check on Chloe, but Vivi wouldn't move, her hands planted on the edge of Solo's pedestal, trying to stay upright. The ground was looking pretty good.

 _I should just sink into the ground and keep going, and never stop._

The floorboards creaked and Lewis panicked. Vivi was in control of his mansion, she couldn't be thinking like that!

 _I should be dead. Arthur would be able to do what he needs to without me getting in the way. Mystery wouldn't hate me so much. Maybe he'd even be a little sorry. I miss him. But I can't stand it._

The chandelier sagged overhead as chunks of plaster thudded to the carpeting and thick white dust rained down.

 _No! Vivi, not like this!_

 _Yes. Like this._

The walls groaned, wood panels bursting inward. The sound of a train rushing down the tracks echoed in her mind.

 _It wouldn't even hurt that much._

The near hallway collapsed in on itself. The staircase began to split apart. The desperate blare of an oncoming horn roared all around him.

 _Not my Vivi!_ Rage crackled through his spirit, burning back the blackness surrounding him. Her despondency gave way to his fury, and Vivi slammed her fists on the pedestal, howling at the unfairness of it all. Mansion architecture jammed itself haphazardly back into place. Nearby suits of armor turned on each other, swinging swords wide and wild. Here, a helmet flew. There, an arm dropped to the ground. Swords sank into walls or carved open rusted breastplates, and pieces of armor littered the foyer.

"Let me go!" Vivi swung her arms, clawing at the air. "Let me go, I'll only ever screw things up!"

 _"Let go! Let go of me, it will always be like this! I can't stand it! I can't make it out there! I can't keep living like this, you don't understand!"_

Ignoring echoes of the past, Lewis peeled back thick sludgy layers from her soul, laying bare the chinks and cracks and old, brittle lines where breaks had formed and healed and formed and healed too many times to count.

 _"It never stops, it never gets better, and I never learn. Just let me go!"_

"Not. My. Vivi," he growled, ripping the sludge off in soupy patches and flinging them into the inferno clearing space enough for her to breathe. And then the fires dimmed as he ran his warmth gently over the surface of her soul, with all its cracks and crevices and fault lines just waiting for the next big shift. "How?" he breathed, a soft awe coloring his question.

"How what?" she moaned, her hands twisting the sweater material over her chest. "What do you want?"

"Teach me." He folded her soul in soft warmth, and she sank to her knees, taking in deep, free breaths. "Teach me how to pick up and keep going. How you let go and piece it together again. Teach me this strength."

Her cheek hit the carpet, but her soul buoyed upward. It wasn't a swing; somehow he had arrested a bad one and leveled her out. Had his momentary rage granted her opportunity enough to break free? The instantaneous relief left behind a floating sensation. He sensed she felt no need to rise from the floor.

"I'm tired," she murmured. "I don't want to leave this."

He curled tighter around her soul. "I'm not leaving you. Not ever again."

"Promise?"

"Promise."

Time faded away for him, and there was only the steady blue, blue, blue pulse of Vivi's soul regaining its lustre and brightness, soaking in his promise. His presence. He _was_ there. He'd come back. This time would be different.

A Deadbeat burst through the window, chittering urgently. Lewis stiffened as Vivi pushed herself up.

"That one isn't ours."

Bracing herself, Vivi turned to the front of the mansion. Only one other person would be wielding Deadbeats now, and if he was using them, it meant Arthur was gaining more control.

Lifting her hands, she brought her palms together and then parted them wide, opening a hole in the front wall. The van pulled through, stopping with its nose just to the soles of Solo's feet. The hole closed behind it.

Lewis stood them up, arms tense, watching. Waiting.

The passenger door swung open and Arthur climbed out. Rounding the pedestal, he came to stand on the other side of it. No shock on his face. No anger either. Had he already known?

Arthur's hands lifted, spelling the silent question, **Did he succeed with Chloe?**

Vivi licked her lips. "We think so. We can't see her yet. She's too bright… you knew?"

He lifted and dropped his head once in a heavy nod. Mud caked his arms and his clothes were stained with red clay. **Mystery and I buried his real bodies.**

"Oh," Vivi said.

Arthur couldn't seem to take his eyes off the corpse in front of him, but Lewis was looking at Arthur. Really looking at him. His eyes were brown now, but a flat brown, no longer his usual lively russet. Had Arthur's eyes ever been so dull? The corners of Arthur's mouth pinched like he was going to burst out screaming or start vomiting, or both. His fingers splayed on the flat wood block, but only the prosthetic held still. Lewis and Vivi held their breath together, still unsure of whom they were facing at that moment.

"Vivi." The sound of Arthur's voice sent chills through Lewis. It was still rounder than any human's tone had a right to be, but soft and hollowed out like a single windchime tube being struck. "I'm so tired."

A fault line slipped in Vivi's soul, and sorrow flooded from the crack. But not the kind that drowned her. The kind that grieved her friend's pain.

And Lewis withdrew, ashamed.

"Lewis."

And he froze at the sound of that voice calling his name. It sounded younger, much younger. It had to be intentional, and yet he found himself inclining toward Arthur as well.

"I don't know who I am. The person who could remind me is gone." His eyes lifted, and Lewis could see the brown ringed in green. "I know she was your," he swallowed, "your sister but you h-have Vivi and I don't have someone to remind me who I am, and I'm scared."

Vivi walked around the pedestal. Arthur hadn't moved his eyes from the last place she'd been standing. Did he even see her?

"And Mystery's afraid of me now. And I'm probably going to have to scare the hell out of Dulcie for this plan to work, and maybe even do some terrible things. And Vivi, you probably think I'm going to rip you open now or something." He was hunched over, clutching his arms. Just like Kay used to, all the time. Lewis ached to see it. "Lew, you probably think I'm going to… do what he did… and I don't blame you for thinking that. It could happen."

Vivi touched his shoulder, and Arthur lifted his face. He started backwards, lifting his hands with a cry. "Don't! Don't touch me! I don't know what I'll do!"

Vivi stopped for a moment, then straightened her spine. "I know what you're _not_ going to do."

Arthur's breath whistled in and out through clenched teeth.

"And d'you know how I know?" She marched forward, lifting up onto her toes slightly, wrapping her arms around his neck. "Because you're Arthur Kingsmen, you dork. Best mechanic in the county, inventor extraordinaire, paranormal puzzle solver. Who just happened to have the worst few months of his life." She squeezed tightly. "I'm no siren, Arthur. Whatever Kay did for you, I can't mimic it. But take it from a friend. If you really were that monster, we'd be long gone by now."

Arthur's hands touched Vivi's shoulderblades in a hesitant hug. Then his eyelids shut, his body slumping into Vivi's support.

This close, Lewis could see here and there a gray hair in the orangey-blond mix. Arthur's chest hitched erratically, even as no tears or words came out.

"Arthur?" he said quietly, and Arthur went still in Vivi's arms. "I think… we all made really terrible mistakes." His eyes caught on Mystery, slinking out of the van, tail tucked and eyes fixed on Arthur. "None of us got it right. I don't think there's time to set it right with each other. Any of us."

Vivi's exorcism curse and headstrong charges flashed through her mind. Lewis recalled the now sickening sight of Arthur's flesh peeling away in flames. Mystery's head lowered, but he offered a soft whine. He had heard as well.

"We're not a team now, and we didn't act like one," Vivi picked up his train of thought, finishing it for him. "But can we try again?"

Arthur drew a shaky breath. "I guess Dulcie doesn't have the time for us to do any less."

Lewis could taste Vivi's disappointment. It wasn't exactly forgiveness, but it would have to do.

"Listen. Lewis. First thing's first." Arthur reached into his vest pocket, withdrawing a portable butane torch. "Swung by the shop. I'll need you separate from Vivi, and fast. We have a jailbreak to plan. Plus," his eyes drifted back to the van. "You have a visitor. But I think you need to look more like you and less like Vivi first."

…...

 **Note:** Thanks to R5h for another angle on the mansion scene. Chapter title is from "This Is What It Feels Like" by Armin Van Buuren.


	4. One Man's Peace Of Mind

The kitchen table. He had to get back to the table. The round wooden kitchen table, not the gray rectangle spread out behind him.

"Mr. Pepper, please. The door is locked, we're not going to unlock it. Take a seat."

Take a seat. Yes. But this wasn't the kitchen table. Maybe they didn't understand that this table was different. It was the kitchen table he was supposed to be at. Then it wouldn't matter if he stood or sat, because he would be at the kitchen table. Where he was supposed to be.

"Don't bother, Stan. I've tried everything in the book. Good cop. Bad cop. Even long-lost relative for the heckuvit. This guy's not there upstairs. I think he's a legit insanity plea."

"That's for the lawyers to sort out, not us."

"Has he even asked for a lawyer?"

"What do you think? He just keeps muttering 'kitchen table' over and over."

Yes. Kitchen table. They understood. He had to get back to it. But the door was locked. It wasn't a door in his house. How far was he from the kitchen table?

"What about the Missus?"

"She's a murder plea with no backup. Says she's behind the Juvie Hall massacre. Says she has a sonic weapon, but it broke, and we're lucky she can't use it on us anymore."

"Well, was a sonic weapon in the jails alright. Didja hear the rumors? Footage killed three investigators 'til they figured it out and ran it through distortion. But how'd she get there so fast from Juvie Hall to the nuthouse? And she'd set off a weapon with her kid in lockup? I'm tellin' you, it doesn't feel right."

None of this was as important as getting back to the kitchen table. What was it going to take to convince them he had to get back there?

"Aw cripes, he's bangin' into the door. Stan, we're not gonna get anything outta this guy. Can we just take him back to the cell?"

"I guess."

The com blared. If it wasn't about the kitchen table, he really, really didn't want to hear it.

"Stan. Ford. We got a weird one. Teles Pepper is using her phone call on Timothy Pepper. Wiring through to the room phone."

"Still no lawyer? What is it with these two?"

She was going to tell him he was supposed to be at the kitchen table. He was trying, but nobody would listen. How many days, now? He'd failed so miserably. A plastic handset pressed against his ear. One order, one simple order he couldn't-

" _Páfsi_."

His knees sagged out from under him, sending him to the floor on all fours like an animal.

 _Enough_. He'd learned the meaning of every word she'd first spoken to him on the island where he'd found her. _Enough_. He did not need to be at the kitchen table.

Hands grabbed him, trying to pull him back up. He snatched at the phone, pressing it to his ear and rasping into the receiver, "Why Dulcie?"

"You won't understand, Timothy." The tone through the phone stopped him. He hadn't heard her like this since she told him she was pregnant for the third time. "Hades would be kinder to her than Demeter."

"Demeter?" he ran a hand through his hair. "What are you talking about?"

"I tried to send her to Hades. I tried so many times, but the curse wouldn't let her die, like it wouldn't let me die. And I tried to tell you to run at the very start, but it was too late. The curse chose you for this punishment. I'm sorry."

His head whirled. She _had_ tried to kill Dulcie before. He was right. She'd gone mad. Somewhere along the line, she'd lost to her inner demons. How had he not seen it sooner? Perhaps there were curses on their children, he'd come to accept this, but trying to kill them wouldn't solve anything. How could she think this was the way?

Revulsion rose in his throat. Kay. Aji. Dulcie. None of them were safe with Teles. He would warn Kay and Aji, tell them to take wing and find somewhere far away to hide. He would take Dulcie himself and run. He would have to fight the urge to be near Teles, but he would do it for his daughters.

"Timothy," her voice shook. "I know you think I am mad. And a monster. And I'm sorry. But this is all I have left to do. Tell them what you saw."

And all the air left Timothy's lungs.

"Tell them how I killed the sailors. Tell them I'm the murderer." Her voice dropped low, barely a whisper. "I will not let them take Aji for this."

He fought his tongue to continue speaking to his wife, wrestling for every word. "Teles. This. Isn't-"

"Timothy Pepper," and her words rolled through melodic and round, "Tell them what I have forced you to do, and that I kept you with me all these years by compulsion." The song dropped from her voice, leaving it worn and tired as she concluded, "It is no less than the truth."

The line clicked silent. Timothy hurled the phone against the wall, his throat so thick with words he could hardly breathe.

"Mr. Pepper?"

Defeated, he raised his eyes to the two officers in the room. Had they always been there? How long had he been in an interrogation room?

"I have to tell you about my wife." His mouth was moving, and he couldn't stop it. "Everything she says is true. And there's more."

…...

For a little while, Dulcie stopped thinking about all the horrible things. She didn't think about why her Mom had tried to kill her. She didn't think about Arthur turning into a giant monster that cried in her arms. She didn't think about the man that told a sad story and fell over dead.

Because, for a little while, Dulcie just watched the unicorn princess sleep.

The light had faded down enough for Dulcie to see through it. The green clothes were torn open under the much larger body that lay on the bed. She had seen horses being ridden up the beach when Mom took her to Catacomb Cliffs. They were so big and she wondered why something so big would let something so small ride it around. The unicorn princess was about the same size, but different. The hooves were bigger, the tail longer and thinner. There wasn't a horn, only broken off pieces in a circle on her forehead.

A few of the little pink ghosts slunk into the room, each taking a wall and pressing their hands against it like they were bracing it in place.

Dulcie slid off her chair and carefully climbed up onto the bed. "Princess?" she whispered. "Are you sleeping?"

There was no movement.

Dulcie bit her lip. "Princess, would you mind if I lay down next to you? I heard your story. It sounds like you're scared and sad. And I'm scared and sad. Maybe we could feel better together."

She paused, waiting for an answer or some sign that she'd been heard. When none came, she laid down alongside the princess, curling up close to her side. Her hide was soft and smelled like earth and wildflowers. Warm light washed over her too, and her eyelids drifted closed. Maybe the unicorn princess could take her away from all the terrible things. And then, someday when Dulcie sprouted wings, she would be able to sing her thanks without hurting the Princess.

That would be a good bedtime story, she thought to herself.

….

"Here's the plan, Lewis." Arthur kept a tight grip on the butane torch. "I need your anchor."

Vivi's hand flew to her pocket, and her eyes burned a dangerous pink. "What kind of plan is that?"

Eye twitching, Arthur fought to keep himself calm. "The kind where you've got a giant crack running through your anchor, and you're lucky your friend knows how to use one of these." He gestured at the torch. "If I can do a weld job on your anchor, it will be strong enough for you to recharge. Get yourself some energy. Come out as _you_ and not be stuck inside Vivi."

"That's not the whole of the plan." Vivi's arms crossed, but Arthur got the distinct feeling she wasn't the one who had crossed them. "What's the rest of it?"

Disgusted, Arthur snapped, "What, you all get to withhold information but I have to spill my plan before you'll so much as budge? Of course, stupid me, it's only a problem if _Arthur_ does it!"

Vivi's arms unfolded, dropping down to her sides, palms face-forward placatingly. There was Vee. "Arthur, please. He's scared. You're angry. But you've always wanted an open exchange of information, right? Unless there's a reason you have to hold back?"

Scowling, Arthur jammed his hands into his pockets. Now that she put it that way, he noticed a sliver of stubborn retributive logic lining his thoughts. He didn't want to give them any more information than absolutely necessary at any given time. Let _them_ sit in the dark for once, not knowing all the details. It felt good to have more pieces than them, even for a little while.

But she wasn't wrong.

"Wherever Dulcie's going to be taken, it's bad. I don't know where yet, but that's something Mrs. Pepper will be able to tell me. Wherever she's going, she's going to need someone to protect her." He raised his eyes to meet Lewis' scrutiny. "Someone who'll be able to keep her safe long enough for Vivi, Mystery, and me to bust her free. See, once she's been taken away, the inevitability of the curse is fulfilled. After that, it's just a matter of finding her, because at that point nothing is set in stone anymore."

There was some small satisfaction in watching Vivi's features soften in awe at the plan. "But Squire," he flinched at the nickname. Why did she keep using it now? "Why don't you go with her? You're the strongest right now."

Arthur turned away. "Demeter's going to have to believe I'm enough Shiker that I still serve her."

"Demeter?"

"The one with all the beef against your Mom, Lewis. I don't want to go into it right now because I don't have all the information myself yet. But I'll have to sell her on me still being her servant, so I can't be the protector. Besides, she wouldn't let someone go with Dulcie, not if she knew about it. A locket, however?" He lifted his chin. "Harmless trinket, she'll think it's something Dulcie wears all the time probably. I take it you can stuff yourself in there, Lewis?"

"Yes."

"Then we're smuggling you in with her. But first." He turned, holding his hand out. "I need to repair it."

Vivi's head tilted, angling her stare at Arthur's outstretched hand. Her eyes flickered between blue and pink for a full minute before she reached into her skirt pocket.

"You'll need to get out of the mansion," Lewis muttered, fingers wrapped around the dimly pulsing locket. "Vivi's exorcism spell hurt, like nothing else hurt since I died. That was a direct attack on my anchor, and you're about to directly attack my anchor." He held it out, releasing it into Arthur's palm.

Sober, Arthur received the locket. He understood. Fixing Lewis' anchor required damaging it too, melting the metal to weld the crack shut. He had no desire to be inside Lewis' reactive architecture when he got started.

Dismayed, he realized he'd overlooked an obvious side effect. "Vee… it's going to hurt you too."

The corner of her mouth flicked upward. "Aw, Squire. You still care."

"This isn't a joke, Vivi. Lewis, whatever you felt is going to hit her with you attached like that."

"You think I don't know?" Lewis brought a hand up to Vivi's shoulder. "But there's nothing I can do. And we need to be separate."

"What's going to keep you from coming after me while I'm working?"

Vivi never got the chance to answer. A large paw bowled her over and a heavy, fur body pinned her to the ground. "That would be my job." Mystery's ears cocked back as he watched Arthur narrowly.

Another surge of frustration set Arthur's palms tingling with warmth, but he wrestled back the urge to flame up. No time to deal with suspicious Mystery. "Fine. I'm headed out." He climbed back into the van. "Shouldn't take too long. Mind putting a garage door or something permanent in the front wall?"

Glowering, Lewis drummed fingers on the ground. The front wall to the left of the door crunched itself thinner and flatter. A handle appeared at the bottom, and a Deadbeat swooped in to roll the new door up. Rolling down the window, Arthur stuck his head out. "I sent some of mine upstairs to brace the room Dulcie's in." Vivi's fingers clenched into fists, and Arthur sighed. "Yeah, fine, be mad at me for having Deadbeats. I don't care."

Spinning the van in reverse, he exited the mansion, pulling out onto the road to put a few miles between him and Lewis.

"You caught all that, right?" Arthur muttered over his shoulder. "I really don't feel like repeating anything."

"That's really him?" Aji's quavery response was like salt in a wound and his whole body tensed up. That tone was too soft and hopeful for a murderer. She was about to get a piece of happiness back, but why should she have it? She didn't deserve anything, not one drop of relief.

Squire. Vivi called him Squire. Said he was still Arthur, her best friend. Not fully the monster. And Uncle Lance, too. And Dulcie, even when he _looked like_ the monster. Losing himself was not an option.

"Yeah, Aji. It's really him." He pulled over to the side of the room and pulled the parking brake. Climbing to the back of the van, he settled himself cross-legged and pulled out the damaged locket. "You'll be seeing him again real soon."

….

 **Note:** Title comes from Victoriam Speramus by Krypteria, referencing the line "One man's peace of mind might be another man's despair."


	5. Do This With Me

**Note:** Trying to fix a gaff, so if a few details do not mesh with previous chapters, I apologize. If there is ever a rewrite, I would absolutely fix the flow properly, but as it is, any repair details from Arthur are corrected by THIS chapter, and not in previous ones. My thanks to Backuppixiedust for checking this. Also, sorry it took so long. Crash-n-burn + vacation + getting back in the writing groove.

….

 _Scrape. Scraaaaape._ Arthur winced at the scratches the charcoal soldering block left as he dragged it to the clear spot in the back of the van. "Aji, there's a silver pot looking thing on the shelf over there." He jerked his head at the lowest side shelf opposite him, sagging under the weight of Uncle Lance's send-off equipment. "I need it. No, the other one. Yeah."

Wordless, Aji retrieved the pot and set it next to the block. Arthur inspected the locket. The first crack from their initial encounter ran from top to bottom, forking just before it hit the bottom. It didn't cut all the way through the metal, or the locket would have fallen apart before now. But it looked like Vivi's curse had spread five extra fault lines off the main crack. Gingerly, he pried the locket open. Light shone through a couple of the new fault lines, confirming it had split all the way through the metal in a few of the new spots.

Using a pair of tweezers, he dug the tips under the photograph inside and cautiously peeled it free of the locket. The heart thrummed once in warning.

Arthur didn't hide his irritation. "Yeah, I'm sure you'd like that destroyed when I start work. Silver isn't flammable. Paper is." Still, he tucked it safely out of the way in a pouch on the side of his work bag.

A pair of tongs had been tied to the pickle pot by a length of cord. Using his prosthetic hand, he clamped the open locket firmly in the tongs, unsealed the pot, and lowered the locket in.

"That's not welding it," Aji muttered.

Arthur's eyes narrowed. "No, it's cleaning it so that I _can_ weld-solder. Solder it. Do you mind?" He brought his real hand around to cup the side of the pot. For a moment, he pictured Aji in his mind, her hands wrapped around Kay's neck.

His hand burst into fire, green flame curling around the pot. He took a few deep breaths, easing back, and the flames lowered. He needed the mixture warm, not boiling.

"Is that thing that killed Lewis really gone?" Aji asked.

"Yes. I thought Mystery covered this with you," Arthur muttered. "I asked him to."

"Yeah, well, he's not sure. He said you weren't totally you, and sometimes you're less you than usual. And the Kingsmen I knew couldn't make fire."

"Yeah, well, the Aji I knew wasn't a murderer."

Silence.

Minutes ticked by, and he lifted his head to get a look at the dashboard clock. He couldn't afford to mess this job up.

"I'm serious, Kingsmen. Are you really trying to help my brother?"

"Your brother is beyond help!" Arthur snapped. "As you have been happy to rub in my face for the last several months. I'm trying to help your sister. The one you have left, in case you forgot about her while you were busy-"

"Stop!" Her hands flew to her ears. "Stop! I know!"

Arthur shook his head, snorting. Pulling the locket out of the solution, he held it up to drip-dry. "There's a bottle of yellow stuff in the bag, looks like vegetable oil. I need it."

He watched Aji dive for the bag, rifling through it. He felt no guilt for digging at her shame. He'd had more than enough of that from her. She set a bottle labeled "Flux" next to him, and he raised his hand to grab it.

"Flames," she mumbled.

Grimacing, he took a few more deep breaths, letting them out slowly, and the fire died. Clear now, he grabbed the bottle, carefully lining every crack with the stuff. "Find some other container. There's some water bottles lying around, I need something to cool it off with afterward. And the back doors, I need them open."

Aji glared at him, and he sighed. "Look, I could use your help. Yeah, I could do it all myself, but the faster we get this over with, the better. If I don't do this just right, I could be hurting Lewis for no reason and have to start all over. Also, if I don't do it fast enough, he might just find enough strength to break free of Vivi and try to attack me."

"But he can't hurt you anymore."

"Doesn't matter, he can still distract me from what I'm doing, and that would be disastrous for him. So can you just swallow whatever pride you've got for a few more minutes and help me?"

She ducked her head, rummaging around the van for the requested items.

By the time she had opened the doors and filled a metal tin with water, the locket had dripped dry. Arthur spread it open on the solder block, insides down. The tongs now held a soft solder strip, lining it up against the cracks, while his other hand held the torch steady.

"Get ready," he murmured, flicking on the torch. "Here we go."

…..

A crack split Lewis lengthwise, branching out to his hip and opposing shoulder. At that moment, he wished he could be anywhere but with Vivi. Then the pain hit and the floor paneling ripped itself up, shooting spikes up from the ground surrounding Vivi's body as the two screamed in chorus.

The crack flooded with fire and molten metal, and Lewis knew he had been tricked. Cheated. Arthur was finishing the job. He had to get to Arthur before his anchor was completely destroyed.

The demon dog was still plotting with Arthur. He held them down as Vivi's body thrashed, engulfed in pink flame. She wouldn't be able to move. He had to find a way to leave.

The body resisted. He didn't know how to leave, as he didn' t know how he had entered. As he strained, memories pulled free of their moorings a second time, gathering themselves around him as he desperately pulled against the bonds that tied him to her body.

Fire flashed along the crack again, and he ripped himself free, staggering toward the door. Arthur had to be stopped. His anchor couldn't take much more-

And the fire ceased. The molten metal cooled quite suddenly, and he stood whole. Tottering on his feet, but whole. And-he looked down at his bone-plated hands-separate. A solid projection, no flickering. Arthur had made good on his word.

Turning on his heel, he stumbled toward Vivi, hitting his knees as Mystery rolled off her. Her eyes were round and fixed on the ceiling, her mouth agape. Lewis gathered her into his arms, patting her face.

"Vivi?" he pleaded. "Vee, talk to me."

Her hands seized his, her eyes searching his face. "You…"

He would have held his breath if it was still possible.

Her face screwed up and her shoulders tensed. She pulled her hands back and buried her face in them. "I… I don't know who you are."

Everything hurt for entirely different reasons.

"I… I know who you are to me, but it's like an echo… there's holes everywhere… lingible yerded whipjacks, Lewis, why can't I hold onto anything about you except that you're important to me?"

Silent, he hooked his arms under her armpits, hauling her up to lean against his chest.

"I remember everything we just went through, I remember the feelings I had, I remember that I can trust you implicitly, but I have no idea why." She swiped her nose hard on her sleeve. "I knew this would happen. I knew I wouldn't be able to remember anything when you left."

Running a hand over her hair, he said, "You did. And remember what you did about it?"

Vivi took a second to think, re-using her sleeve on her eyes, and then nose again. "I… I made a backup." Her eyes widened. "I made a backup! Like, copies of the memories." She quieted a moment, her eyes glazing over. Lewis wrapped his arms around her middle, praying she'd been able to do what she claimed.

"They're there," she said after a while. "The memories. Some, at least. They're… they're not the same. It takes longer to find one, and it's like looking at a picture of a picture. I don't feel anything when I think of them, like it happened to someone else."

Lewis bowed his head, pressing his face into her hair. It used to smell like apples after a shower, the smell fading throughout the day. The memory of her favorite scent filled him where he could no longer smell. "I'm sorry," he said quietly. "When this is over, and I pass on, I'll return them all to you. I swear."

Vivi didn't respond, lost in her secondhand memories. Behind, the van pulled in through the garage door, and Lewis released Vivi, ready to face Arthur.

…...

Arthur was finally starting to get the hang of the Deadbeats. He wasn't sure how many were at his beck and call, but it was a lot. He could feel them like kite strings anchored to the edge of his consciousness. It only took a simple tug to bring one swooping in to open the garage door for him.

The foyer was a wreck. The stairs had split down the middle, resembling an angry set of sideways jaws than anything remotely climbable. Floorboards had ripped themselves up all over, the twisted wood spikes too close to cave stalagmites for his comfort. The chandelier lay in pieces along the right wall and chunks of the ceiling lay scattered all over.

He climbed out slowly, spying the back of Lewis' funeralwear toward the middle of the room. "Love what you've done with the place..." he tried, the joke falling flat by the last word.

The hair was softer, rounder than it had been last time he'd seen the spectre of his best friend. Purple, not pink, and a soft blue light pulsed at the edges of his form. As Lewis turned his head, Arthur forgot to breathe. The glowering skull had been replaced by flesh, or at least the appearance of flesh, and save for the burning pink irises set in hollow eyesockets, he could almost forget that Lewis was dead.

He couldn't place the expression on Lewis' face, but it wasn't fury or disgust. That was a step in the right direction.

Stepping out, he shut the driver's door behind him and turned to slide the side open. The lock clicked loudly as he touched the handle.

 _You could tear the van open like a sardine can and drag her out to face her brother's justice._

Arthur blinked. His metal fist was in the center of a blackened dent in the door. Not good. He had to keep control. Stepping back, he exhaled slowly. Reaching into his pocket, he pulled out the locket, lifting it up. It floated out of his hand, gliding over to attach itself to Lewis' chest. Startled, Lewis glanced down, flicking it open.

 _So. He can tell when I've changed something._

He had returned the photo to its setting, but tucked into the locket next to the picture was one of Kay's smaller feathers.

The heart swung shut with a soft click. Lewis pulled away from Vivi, hovering toward Arthur. Ducking his head, Arthur shuffled back, pointing to the van. "Someone's here to see you."

Lewis paused where he was for a moment, then turned and phased through the side of the van. There was a low cry from inside, followed by muffled words repeated several times, then silence.

 _He's probably embracing her right now. Reassuring her. Forgiving her._

Arthur sucked in a breath. His skin smoldered, and Mystery was eyeing him sidelong. "I'm trying!" He snapped. "Looking at me like that doesn't help!"

The side door of the van slid open. Lewis climbed out, reaching a hand back to help Aji out. She stumbled out, clinging to his hand, her face hidden under a mass of red curls.

Arthur cleared his throat. "So. Now we're in crunch time. We have no idea how long we have before Demeter snatches Dulcie. And I have a hunch it's going to have a pretty personal touch, given Dulcie is the last one."

Lewis looked at Arthur. It was the same expression as before, but less guarded. Arthur turned to face Duet's body, surprisingly undisturbed by the wreck around it. He brushed some of the dirt off his vest. "Mystery and I buried their other bodies, but we might not have time for this one yet. Lewis, maybe you can find room in your vaults while we move into the next stage."

"Arthur."

Arthur ignored Lewis. "We have to spring Mrs. Pepper, and after that there's no telling when we'll lose Dulcie, so we'll have to move fast. Lewis, we need to work out how to maneuver your mansion so that it-"

"Arthur. Stop."

"What?!" Arthur snarled, his jaw aching as extra teeth crammed themselves through. "Haven't we wasted enough time already?"

Lewis pulled Aji behind him, but stayed where he was. "Arthur, we need to stop now."

"Lewis is right." Vivi piped up from the floor. "We've been running ragged since we found Lewis. No breaks for anybody, really. And we all know what happened last time somebody in the group rushed into things." She forced a grin. "Am I right, Squire?"

Arthur blinked, taken off guard. "But… Dulcie…"

Lewis drifted closer. "Artie, speaking as someone who wanted revenge pretty badly, you want to see your enemy's face at the climax, where the worst of it hits them. Where's Mom?"

Arthur's shoulders loosened. "Not here."

"Where's Dulcie?"

"Here."

"It's inevitable, like you say. Somehow it's going to happen, but probably when they're together. So." Lewis came to a stop in front of Arthur. "Let's keep them apart for awhile longer. We-well, they," he gestured at the others, "need rest. And so do you. Shower. Sleep. I'll make food for everyone. Maybe we won't get wrecked if we take the time to put something together."

Arthur studied his shoes.

"Hey." Lewis' hands dropped onto his shoulders. "We've… we've got your back. Okay?"

Jerking back, Arthur dug his hands into his vest pockets among the feathers stored there. "You should be watching your own backs. I'm a threat now. Especially to you."

Lewis' eyes drifted toward his locket, and he traced the new lines on the front gingerly. "I guess we'll see. But I'm not as convinced anymore."

….

 **Note:** Chapter title excerpted from lyrics of The Adventure by Angels & Airwaves.


	6. What Do You Dream About?

Vivi's legs dangled over Lewis' right arm, her head laid against his left shoulder. When she couldn't stand, Lewis had simply scooped her up and started walking. Muttering something about the indignity, she resigned herself to being carted like luggage.

Very tenderly held luggage, she had to admit. She was pretty sure nobody had ever-no, wait. He had, actually. Sometimes, when it was really bad, he would come find her and bring her back to the apartment and tuck her in bed. It was there, faintly, the bare outlines of a memory.

Aji stayed close to Lewis, trailing at his elbow, keeping her face down. Squire and Mystery had to be behind. She couldn't hear either of them, but hoped they were following. Lewis led them down the hall, taking it slow as the rubble cleared itself enough to form a narrow path just ahead of him. Deadbeats peeked out from his collar, surveying the damage before retreating. She tried to move one of them, but couldn't remember how it was done. It had come so easily before.

A ceiling beam groaned as it raised itself back in place, allowing the door it had blocked to swing open. Inside, dozens of Deadbeats crowded against the walls, ceiling, and floor. Aside from a few cracks in the plaster, the room remained intact.

Squinting, she shielded her eyes. She could no longer make out the bed for the shine at the center, and hid her face in Lewis' shoulder.

"Dulcie?" Lewis rumbled, tensing.

"She'll be fine." Arthur's voice came from somewhere close, maybe over Lewis' shoulder. "See, tucked up against Chloe. No safer place right now. Healing's probably doing her good. In fact, if we're going to rest, here and now will be best."

"We're not stealing from Chloe?" Vivi asked.

"She was in human form before, with barely enough for herself. There's more than enough to go around now."

Vivi fumbled with the ascot tied around her neck, pulling it free. "Here, Lew. Dulcie meant it for you." Keeping her eyes closed, she reached up, but only succeeded in smacking him in the face.

"Mff… I got it, Vivi." The cloth pulled free of her hand, and she was set down on the floor. A moment later there was a short ripping sound. A cloth of the same texture wrapped around her eyes. "But if Chloe's a bit much to take in right now, keep it a little longer. Aji, come here. You too."

Stretching her hands out, Vivi swung her arms in an arc, checking the space around her. She bumped into cushy quilting just behind. The bed?

Something large settled next to her. Large, but not heavy. "Right here, Vee. I just had to get Dulcie."

Reaching over, Vivi felt the silky smooth material of Lewis' funeral outfit, with a much smaller pair of legs hanging over his arm. "Is she okay?"

"Sleeping."

His voice could be so soft. Did he used to sing? Fragmented strains of violin concertos tumbled around in her mind but she couldn't place his singing voice.

"You should sleep too, Vee. We-I-expended all your energy." Large knuckles brushed her cheek.

A sudden aching hit her in the chest, the gesture skipping past her patchwork memories and burrowing deeper. Distance. Distance was what she needed. She cleared her throat. "I wanna check on Squire real quick. Squire?"

No answer.

"Lew, point me at Squire, would you?"

No answer.

"Lewis Pepper. Point me at Arthur Kingsmen before I take your skull and use it to smack sense into him."

Sighing, Lewis tugged on her arm until she was pointed in a different direction. "Keep going straight."

The carpet was soft, and her hands and knees sank in as she crawled forward. After a short crawl, she bumped into Arthur's folded-up knees. "Gee, thanks for the warning, Squire."

"Why are you over here?"

She bit her lip. His voice was frayed at the edges. If she pulled too many threads with him, he might unravel completely. Seating herself next to him, she nudged his shoulder with her own. "I'm over here to check on you, ya dipwash."

"Your boyfriend is over there."

"Yeah, I know where my boyfriend is. He's fine right now, thanks to you. Plus he's got a couple really drained sisters draped on him. I'm here to check on my best friend."

No response. Running a hand up his arm to his shoulder, she felt the tension bleeding off him. "And to say I'm sorry," she murmured, "properly. For taking off without you. And for what happened to-"

His hand clamped over her mouth. The heat in the room increased, but Vivi held up a hand, hoping Lewis got that she was fine.

"Don't," Arthur rasped. "I can't right now."

Vivi brought her arm up behind Arthur and wrapped it around both shoulders, squeezing as his hand dropped away. "Okay, Squire."

Some of the tension melted as he sagged into her grip. "But, yeah. I forgive you."

They sat like that for a few minutes, Arthur leaning on Vivi, and Vivi with her back to one of the bedroom walls. Her head began listing to the side, but Arthur's voice tugged her back to consciousness.

"Vivi. Do you think you could believe in me?"

She frowned. "What kind of question is that?"

He paused, like he was trying to gather the right words.

"Vee, I think I'm going to have to do some really bad things."

She shifted her grip, turning more toward him, even though she couldn't see through the cloth. "You don't have to, Squire. You're stronger than this thing, it can't control you."

"You don't understand. Demeter is the Shiker's master-well, mistress. If there's any shot of me removing the threat to Dulcie, I have to go up against Demeter." His body trembled, and she tightened her grip. "But I'm not strong enough, Vee. That's a goddess, you can't just up-front attack a goddess. The only way is if she believes I still serve her. Then I'd have to wait for the right moment to strike."

Vivi's stomach began to sink.

"And gods know what she will have me do in the meantime. I'll have to cater to her every whim to keep her believing me. And then, what if I'm not strong enough? What if I end up buried so deep in these horrible things she'll have me do, that all that's left is the Shiker, only in a new body?" His breathing hitched and his arm rattled. "I'm scared, Vee. I'm scared, and I don't have a guide back this time. And I don't even know if my friends believe in me enough. I can't do it if it's just me, and nobody believes I can do it. Please, Vee… I know it's a lot to ask, but please…"

She hugged Arthur fiercely, putting her mouth right next to his ear. "You listen to me, you bucket brained sack of stripped screw shafts. I'm not an idiot. Lewis is over there worrying his skull off that I'm this close to you, and I know you could suck my soul out and strip it down until there's nothing left." He shuddered, cringing, but she held him in place. "I know you could drain my memories until I don't know anyone I've ever loved. I know you could turn into some hideous beast and tear me limb from limb. Now, with all that I know right now, where am I, Squire?"

Arthur clung to her, releasing a shaky breath. "A lot closer to me than you should be."

"Right, exactly where I need to be. And I was earlier, too, wasn't I?" Vivi loosened her hug, but only just. "I have believed in you, Squire. And I do. And I will."

"Thank you," he mumbled. He'd tilted even farther, until he was draped across Vivi's legs. "Sorry… can't…"

"It's ok, Squire. Sleep it off." She leaned back against the wall, rolling her head to rest on her right shoulder. "We'll figure out what's next later."

….

Dulcie wasn't sure where she was. She'd fallen asleep next to the unicorn princess, but now she stood in a large, fenced-in pasture. It was nighttime, and the knee-high grass swayed against her legs. No insect stirred, and she couldn't hear any frogs or birds, but there was a sigh every few seconds. She followed the sigh to one end of the pasture. In the very far corner was the unicorn princess, curled around five golden orbs, staring into them with a melting-sad look.

"Hello," the princess said without raising her head. "You are the one who was reading stories to me. Kay's sister, Dulcie? I was at your house for a little bit, but I didn't see you there."

Awed that the princess remembered her name, Dulcie nodded.

"Please come here. Nobody comes into dreams with me, and it's lonely."

Startled, Dulcie looked up and around. The grass tickled her calves and the breeze cooled her cheeks and she'd never seen stars burn as bright as they did in that sky.

"It is only a dream," the princess assured her. "Look, I have your dream here." She nosed a golden orb toward Dulcie. It rolled to a stop at her feet, and in it, Dulcie could see herself standing in a grassy meadow, staring at a golden orb at her feet, and within that golden orb…

Dulcie covered her mouth, turning away, her stomach lurching at the glimpse of infinity.

"I'm sorry!" The princess was on her hooves, approaching cautiously. She was so very big, as big as a horse, with wide hooves, though she approached as though tiptoeing. "I'm sorry, I didn't mean to make you sick." She rolled the orb away. "Please don't leave."

 _The princess' eyes are so sad_ , Dulcie thought. She glanced at the other orbs.

The princess turned to look back at them. "Those? Those are the others' dreams. They're… they're mostly sad." The great, giant head lowered until the muzzle was almost touching the ground, half hidden among the grass. "And there's nothing I can do about it."

The same place in Dulcie that knew it was okay to hug giant wolf-Arthur knew the princess wouldn't be offended either. She knelt and wrapped her arms around the muzzle, taking care not to touch the horn.

"What's your name, Princess?" Dulcie asked. "They never told me. They only said you were a unicorn princess."

The princess gave a short laugh. "Well. I don't know about princess. I picked the name Chloe. My first friend gave it to me."

"Who was your first friend?" Dulcie asked.

Chloe's eyes turned sad again. "The one that can't dream anymore. Your brother, Lewis."

"He never told me he knew a unicorn!" Dulcie squealed.

"He didn't remember. And neither did I." Chloe looked again toward the other dreams. "And I will not remember everything when I wake. Like Duet used to say, the soul remembers what the mind cannot." She pulled free of Dulcie and returned to her corner, settling around the orbs like a mother hen.

Drawn by the light, Dulcie came closer, crouching over the dreams. "Can you do anything with 'em?"

"Sometimes," Chloe admitted. "I don't understand it all yet, but when I am near dreamers, the dreams are less images from their own minds, and more real, like things that are happening, or things that might happen. I don't think that is normal for humans."

Dulcie shook her head hard. She'd never once had a dream that told her the future, or what was happening at the same time as her sleep.

"I'm not trying to do it." Chloe ducked her head. "It just happens."

Fascinated, Dulcie reached for one of the balls, holding it up to her face.

….

 _The violin's hateful crescendo drops to a mournful wail that underscores the child's weeping. Vivi stands in the only circle clear of fire in a sea of rose colored flames. There is a list in her hand. A list of names, with the blameless intact on the right side and the damned burned to a crisp on the left half._

 _She walks toward the edge of the circle, which extinguishes at her approach. In fact, the entire cavern begins to go dark as the flames burn lower and lower. The cries come from across the cavern, and she weaves around stalagmites and boulders. She determines to find the child this time._

 _And she does. Rounding a spire, she finds him huddled against the base. A scrawny child with an unruly mop of mouse brown hair, clutching his face and rocking._

 _"All wrong," he sobs. "Everything is all wrong."_

 _Blood drips down the spire he is crouched by. Vivi keeps her eyes trained on him, resisting the urge to look up._

 _"It wasn't supposed to be like this!" He lashes out, striking the bloody stone with his fist. "I was supposed to get away! Start again! Nobody would make me go back, nobody would try to kill me and suck out my soul ever again. And now I made it all worse. Why?"_

 _Vivi sinks to her knees, reaching out to the little boy. "Take my hand."_

 _His eyes are slits. "Why?"_

 _"Because I don't know the answer to your question. But I know it's not here. We should leave this place."_

….

"Is that Lewis?" Dulcie pointed at the boy Vivi had begun to lead out of the cavern.

Chloe nodded. "He cannot dream anymore, but she sees the state of his soul this way in her dreams. He can control how he appears to her awake, but here..."

Dulcie lifted another orb to her face.

….

 _A dog the size of a house is tearing through a mountain pass. He is happy. He is full of wonderful feelings. His muscles roll and the wind through his coat is a glory. His rider is full of joy, too. Two people's joy together in one person. So much that it is overflowing, and he takes it. She doesn't mind, she has more than enough. He can only see her shadow astride his, to the right._

 _There is another. A four step pounding to his left and a neigh fit to shatter the sky. He howls in response, breaking off halfway to laugh. He can hardly believe his fortune. He could not ask for a better pack to run with._

….

Dulcie smiled. She didn't know this new kind of Mystery very well, but he had always been kind to her, licking her face and butting up against her to be petted. It was good to see him happy. She picked up the next, but nearly dropped it.

It wasn't golden at all, but a swirling black. Aji's voice screamed from the depths. _"Take me!"_ she cried. _"Take me instead! Take me! Take me instead! Take me! Take me instead!"_

The orb dropped from Dulcie's fingers, and she hid her face in her hands.

"I am sorry," Chloe murmured, "for your sisters."

She didn't want to cry anymore. Lewis was back, but Kay was gone, and Aji and Mom weren't safe to be with. And where was Dad? Some awful person was going to steal her away and there was nothing she could do about it except be brave like Arthur said. She couldn't cry, or she would burst like a sack of flour, and nobody could put a burst sack of flour back together. She'd held onto her words for weeks, she could hold onto her tears now.

Numbly, she reached for the last orb. It didn't shine as bright and clear as the first two, and she had to put it right up against her eyes before she saw what was happening.

….

 _There is a man and there is a great, snarling fox. The fox cannot conceive that it has been so thoroughly bound, tricked into death and trapped beyond it. It holds cold hate to itself, taking every opportunity to lash out at the man._

 _The man is tired. This had never been in the plans. It had been just a split second decision to save a friend from a fate worse than his current state. Now he is bound to a monster, harnesses of iron-strong vines holding them fast._

 _The fox is so big and old and cunning and the man is so small. He is smart, but there are so many mistakes because he is young. It will not take many to set the fox free on his friends._

 _"And you are alone," the fox snarls at him._

 _And the man does not respond, because of course, the fox is right. He will have to leave his friends and hope that they will know what to do. He will go to a place that he does not know or understand and serve a mistress he cannot hope to defeat._

 _"You are a fool." The fox snaps its jaws at him, and he barely dodges in time. "She will find you out. There will come something you can't bring yourself to do, and all your designs will fall apart."_

 _"You're not real," the man presses his fingers to his temples. "You're dead. You're not here."_

 _"Acknowledge me!" The fox roars. "What are memories? What is a lifetime of experience? I am imprinted on you. You have become me!"_

 _"Never!" The man's voice is harsh. "I am not you!"_

 _"If you want to survive to reach your goals, you will have to acknowledge me. You are not strong enough to do what must be done."_

 _"I'm stronger than you!" he says, but the fox only laughs at him. It opens its great, ugly jaws and exhales. On the foul breath rides a flurry of golden plumes, circling the man in a whirlwind. He stumbles back with a sharp cry, hitting the end of his bonds, unable to flee._

 _"Stronger than me?" the fox sneers. "You don't even know your own name right now."_

 _Horrified, the man wracks his mind. It starts with an 'L'. No, a 'V'. It definitely starts with a…. Does it end in an 'I'?_

….

"Arthur!" Dulcie screamed at the orb. "Your name is Arthur!"

"They can't hear you. I've tried." Chloe lifts her head. The stars have faded, and the horizon glows softly. "And it is almost time."

"Arthur!" Dulcie shakes the orb desperately. "That's your name! Arthur! Arthur! Arthur!"

….

 _"Arthur!"_

 _He gasps, drinking in the name. That is his name. He knows it now, how could he have forgotten it? He searches for the voice. It's so familiar, but…_

 _"Arthur! Arthur! Arthur!"_

 _There. A little ways away. She hadn't been there before. It's a little girl with mounds of cotton candy pink hair. She is holding a gold ball and shaking it, screaming his name. The fox turns, baring an ugly maw of teeth at her and crouching._

 _But Arthur knows who he is. He turns away from Dulcie and strains against the harness. The Shiker will not have her. Demeter will not have her. He will find a way through if it kills him, because that is what he does now._

 _That is who Arthur is._

….

 **Note:** Chapter title excerpted from When You Dream by Barenaked Ladies.


	7. I'm Not Giving Up

Dulcie wasn't holding a ball. It was too soft and flat and it scrunched up between her fingers like cloth. And her eyes weren't open, they were closed, so she couldn't even see what she was holding. She cracked her eyelids, peeking out cautiously.

Her heart hit her ribs so hard that something must have broken. It was like when she heard Vivi talking with Lewis' voice and using ghosts, and knowing that because Vivi worked with ghosts she must have found Lewis somehow. And then getting hugged by Vivi, but it was really her brother.

This time it was really really her brother, and he was holding her like he did when she had nightmares about killing hundreds of people with her voice or turning into some horrible featherbacked monstrosity and being driven out of the city with torches and pitchforks. His face was sadder than usual, and his eyes didn't look normal, and his hair swayed and flickered a little like fire, but it was him.

He wasn't looking at her yet. She reared up, wrapping her arms around his neck fiercely. He started, and for a moment he vanished. She slipped a fraction before he caught her, reforming in the space of a blink.

"Sorry! Sorry, Dulcie. Are you okay?"

She squeezed tighter.

"Hey." He settled himself, rocking slowly. "Hey, it's gonna be okay."

She wasn't afraid of what was going to happen. At least, not right then. She just hadn't seen him in so long, but she couldn't get the words out.

Someone cleared a throat and Dulcie lifted her head. Arthur stood in the doorway, a sodden towel hanging around his neck and his hair hanging limp in a shaggy mop around his face. The last time she'd seen him with wet hair, they'd all been playing in the yard and he'd been chasing Lewis with the hose.

"Thanks for the shower." Arthur ran a hand through his hair. "And dealing with my clothes." He put on a grin that didn't work very well. "Can't meet a goddess covered in mud, right?"

Lewis watched him, saying nothing.

The grin went away. "Yeah. Well. How's the patient?"

Lewis' head swiveled around to glance behind him, and following his gaze, Dulcie saw the unicorn princess-Chloe.

There was a very small glow around her and she looked just like she did in Dulcie's dream. Except her horn wasn't long and straight like in the dream. It was small, maybe as long as Dulcie's hand, and it twisted a little to the side.

"Probably awake any minute," Lewis answered. "The light's been dying down for the last hour. The hole closed up completely, I'll take that as a good sign."

Arthur sighed. "Pretty sure I'm the last person she's going to want to deal with when she wakes up."

Vivi's voice piped up from across the room, where Lewis had been staring earlier. "You think she'll know?"

"Undoubtedly." Arthur fiddled with the towel ends. "There's different levels of perception, and it's not as visual as the curses, but I'm probably giving off a million signals that can be read by the right creatures."

Lewis' eyes shifted back to Arthur. "What do you mean 'not as visual as the curses'?"

"Something I haven't gotten around to telling you. I see it on you." He gestured at Lewis and Dulcie. "Lew, you've got thorny vines strung tight out of… well." He passed a hand briefly over his own stomach, averting his eyes. "Aji's got flowering creepers around her neck and hands."

A form shifted nearby, and Dulcie caught sight of Aji. Her sister hunched over, close to Lewis, but not quite touching, now gripping one wrist like she wanted to break it off.

"Dulcie's are like chains between her wrists and feet, but no flowers yet. Blooming or thorns seems to signify a fulfilled curse as best as I can tell." He lifted his own arms, his mouth quirking. "With some exceptions."

"What do you see, Squire?" Vivi asked.

"I'm covered with the stuff. Mrs. Pepper said something about it way back when I was still trying to figure it out. I'm not cursed, but the curse has been using me every step of the way, so I'm drawn in. I doubt mine will bloom." He lowered his arms. "Can't even imagine what hers looks like, but I guess I'll find out."

"Is Vivi clear?" Lewis blurted.

"Yeah, Lew. I thought I saw it on her when you had her possessed, but it was just you. Nothing's touching her now."

Lewis' shoulders loosened.

And then room darkened.

…...

Arthur watched the last of the glow fade, impassive. Chloe moaned and Vivi was on her feet, halfway across the room by the time the great hooves began digging into bedding. "What-what's happening to me?"

Lewis dove out of the way, Dulcie firmly clutched to his chest, as Chloe's front hooves hit the ground. Grabbing Aji's arm, he dragged her several feet away.

"Vivi-chan!" Relief overtook the panic in Chloe's voice. But as Vivi's hands came up to Chloe's muzzle, she jerked back. "No, what is this? Why?" Chloe whimpered, craning her neck to look back at her body. "Why? I didn't mean it, Vivi-chan, I didn't mean it about being a magical girl! I mean, maybe I did, but not like this!"

Arthur kept still. No sense in drawing Chloe's attention and eliciting further panic, but he kept a close eye. Her front hooves kept lifting up and hitting the ground again in little motions of distress, and her back hooves dug into the bed as she tried to leave it. She wasn't familiar with this body anymore, and if she wasn't careful, she might hurt Vivi.

He wouldn't step in unless he had to. He hoped he didn't have to.

Vivi caught Chloe's muzzle in her hands, keeping them there even as the great head jerked and shook from side to side, like Chloe was trying to shake free of something. "It's just a dream. Just a dream. Right, Vivi-chan?"

Vivi didn't answer, keeping her hands on Chloe's muzzle, occasionally standing on tiptoe to do so. Her wounds had healed up, he noted. Only light scars remained where Kay had swiped her across the face. She probably didn't need the bandages on her arms anymore, either.

"This is no dream."

Surprised, Arthur shot a look at Mystery. The kitsune leaned against a wardrobe, standing in human form, arms folded across his chest. "This is very real, as is what happened to you."

Chloe struggled to drag her hindquarters off the bed, her forelegs wobbly.

"I think you'll find muscle memory will kick in shortly. This isn't the first time you've walked on four legs."

"What are you talking about?" Chloe panted. "This isn't real, this is just a dream. I'm dreaming this because of that bedtime story Duet was telling me."

Arthur closed his eyes. So, Duet had confessed before the end.

"The story was real, Chloe." Mystery crossed over to stand behind Vivi. "Do you remember me?"

Chloe stopped for a moment, studying him. "You're…" Chloe shied hard, backing up until she was practically back on the bed.

Dropping to one knee, Mystery bent his back and bowed his head. "I want to apologize for my attack," he murmured. "I did not understand what had happened."

Chloe whimpered. "I don't know what you're talking about! I don't know what any of this is. Where am I? Why am I really a magical…" She looked back at herself. "Horse?"

Arthur swallowed a laugh. Close enough.

"And why are you sorry now when you weren't? And Vivi-chan, how did you find me? Where's Duet? Who's-" she gasped, her eyes going wide. "Vivi-chan…" She had locked onto Lewis.

Lewis lowered Dulcie to the ground, straightened himself, and took a few tentative steps forward. "Hi, Chloe. Remember me?"

Chloe let out an ear-shattering shriek. "Ahhhhhh Vivi-chan! It's just like _Tokyo Magnitude 8.0_! You're being escorted by the ghost of someone who knows you're not ready to let go yet, sugoi! You are so lucky!"

Arthur lost it. He couldn't help himself. The fact was, the unicorn spouting anime references was the sanest thing in the room, and that tickled him. After all they'd been through, they might as well be in the middle of an anime, and of course Chloe would be the perfect guide. He wasn't shocked that she didn't remember Lewis, though. Duet had done his work too well. Besides, Lewis didn't look anything like the child she'd seen him as in captivity.

"Vivi-chan!" The shriek changed pitch and intensity, and Arthur's laughter died. She'd noticed him. He braced himself to start explaining before she hit hysterical levels.

"It's okay, Chloe." Lewis held up his hands placatingly. "It isn't what you think."

"He's! He's! He's!" Chloe was fully off the bed and fetched up against the wall, pressing against it as if she could blend into the cheerful pink wallpaper.

"He's Arthur." Lewis' tone was firm. "You know Arthur. It's still Arthur."

"But!"

"I know. I can tell you what's going on, but he's not going to hurt you."

Arthur stared up at Lewis' back. He was very nearly at a loss for words.

"Actually, Lewis, it may be best if Vivi and I speak with her." Mystery had risen from the ground. "There are some things I need to discuss with her, and with Vivi specifically."

Arthur blinked. Was Mystery going to own up to his secrets to Vivi? His gut unclenched a little. So many secrets coming to light, and they were all talking to each other. He could almost believe they could make a functional team.

If he wasn't leaving shortly, of course.

"Good idea, Mystery. Lew? You, me, and your sisters need to talk." He gave an approving nod to Mystery. "We'll catch up with you later."

"Not too much later, okay?" Vivi put a hand on Chloe's neck. "I'm pretty famished, and it'd be great to have some grub soon."

A smile spread across Lewis' face. "That would be my department. The Deadbeats will come get you when we're ready."

"Maybe not a great idea, Lew." Arthur eyed Chloe. "Some of us have been around them in really unpleasant ways recently."

"Ah… we'll find you," Lewis amended.

Arthur entered the room fully and stepped away from the door, allowing for a good deal of distance when Vivi led Chloe, stumbling over her hooves, through the door. Mystery met Arthur's eyes for a moment, before ducking his head and following behind.

"Now." Arthur turned to the others. "Who's ready to plan our Hail Mary pass?"

….

 **Note:** Chapter title excerpted from Any Other Way by We The Kings.


	8. Despite My Growing Fears

Dulcie tugged on Lewis' sleeve, waiting for him to bend down before whispering to him. Arthur turned to Aji, who sat on the floor, studying the carpet like there was a texture test coming up.

"You gonna just stare, or are you actually going to be a part of this?"

"I'm listening." Aji was barely audible.

Shaking his head, Arthur sat down a couple feet from her, crossing his legs. Lewis opened one massive hand, a flash of pink flame coalescing into a purple sharpie. Dulcie took it, pecked him on the cheek, then turned to Arthur, plopping down on his left side. She took his hand and began drawing on it with the sharpie. Arthur raised an eyebrow, but shrugged and turned his attention to other matters.

"Just so we're clear, shortly after we bring Mrs. Pepper onboard, Demeter is probably going to show up. It's just a guess, but given Dulcie is the last one, it's a decent hunch. So we're sending Lewis with-" he glanced down at his arm. His name was written twice in swirly cursive up and down his flesh arm in purple ink, and Dulcie was going for a third. "Dulcie? What are you doing?"

"Can't forget your name." Dulcie made a long, swooping loop for the 'h' in his name.

Arthur's eyes widened, snippets of his fitful dream surfacing. Dulcie had been there. Had she really been in his mind?

"Can't sing you your name yet. M'sorry." She kept her eyes on his arm, finishing the third pass and starting on the fourth. "I'd try to be real careful if I could, but I can't. I haven't gotten sick yet. So gotta make sure you remember."

Arthur's chest hurt with all the implications of her words. She was trying to stand in for Kay and guide him back. But Kay was gone, and Dulcie hadn't even fledged yet. She must have seen something of the struggle in him, and was trying to bind him to his identity via purple sharpie.

His jaw worked, but his words didn't. He couldn't think of what he had been about to say. He looked to Lewis, blank.

"You're sending me," Lewis prompted.

Right. The Hail Mary pass. "We're sending Lewis with Dulcie. Wherever she ends up, she needs to survive long enough for us to find her again." He put out his prosthetic to block Dulcie's marker from a fifth scrawl. "Thanks, Dulcie. I think I got it." He managed a small smile. "That should last me a good while. You just keep a tight hold on this, okay?" He tapped the rainbow clip in her hair. "Remember to be brave."

She nodded solemnly, and Arthur turned to Lewis. "She'll need your locket, Lew."

Lewis detached the locket from his chest. Pulling a small chain from behind his lapel, he threaded the heart onto it and leaned forward, clasping the chain around Dulcie's neck.

"Hide it away, Dulcie," Arthur advised. "Demeter might not think anything of it, but you never know."

Dulcie tucked it under her shirt out of sight.

"And keep in mind, Dulcie, Lewis might look a lot scarier when he comes out next time. He's going to have to protect you, so he'll have to look terrifying. But it's still Lewis." Arthur ran a finger over the name written all over his arm, remembering the vengeful, flaming skull looming over him. "You'd better settle things with Vivi soon, Lew. Goodbyes and stuff. We don't know when it could happen."

"Understood." Lewis nodded. "So, what about Mom?"

Aji lifted her head. "What _about_ Mom?"

Arthur lifted his head. "Well, to start with, we'll have to jailbreak her and your Dad. She was taken in for singing in public after a certain incident at Juvie Hall."

Aji paled as Arthur continued. "On top of that, she tried to poison Dulcie when the two of them were last together. So whatever she thinks Dulcie is going to face, it's got to be pretty bad and I need to know everything she knows. The problem is, even with what I knew about your family, she wouldn't talk last time I asked. At least, she wouldn't give me anything useful."

Aji leaned forward. "So how exactly are you planning on getting her to talk to you? She wouldn't even tell us any of this, we had to find out through your investigation."

 _She wouldn't dare talk to you like this if you didn't look like a meek little mechanic right now._

Arthur exhaled slowly, tracing his name with a metal finger. Aji was already challenging him. This wasn't going to be easy. "I'll have to break her."

Claws broke the tips of Aji's fingers and a layer of feathers bristled on the back of her neck. Lewis' hair flared, but he held a hand out, gesturing for Aji to wait. "What exactly do you mean?"

His tone was a great deal more measured than Aji's, and Arthur was oddly comforted. Three days ago, Lewis would have crisped him for saying something like that, without bothering to clarify.

"Your Mom won't talk, Lew. She's kept this secret from everyone, even her husband. She's not going to just give it up. But I know what will make her give it up, and I won't have to lay a finger on her to get it. Besides," He turned back to Aji. "You're the oldest, now. You should know why this is happening to your family."

It was like watching a balloon deflate, and Arthur felt a measure of satisfaction. Jabbing her felt good, but he couldn't feed too much of that. He selected his next words to her with more care. "You'll need to know as much as you can so you can work with Vivi to find Dulcie. I'll probably be stuck to Demeter's side, or out running 'errands' for her."

"What did you-" Lewis caught himself. "What did the Shiker have to do for her?"

"Just what you saw him doing, but who knows if she'll have me doing the same thing or something new." Arthur's eyes widened as the weight of that statement settled on him. "Oh gods. Oh gods, Lewis. Oh gods, no, I…"

A hesitant hand settled on his shoulder, and he hunched over, clutching his arms as the possibility of returning to curse-cultivation ran through his mind. "What if she… I couldn't… but Dulcie…"

 _You understand? You are not strong enough. If she ordered you to continue your duties, could_ you _steal another creature's soul? Could you harvest a creature that begs you to stop? Perhaps, they aren't human after all, but could_ you _take a child and strip it down? How much damage are you willing to inflict to keep your cover? To save one child?_

"Arthur."

Arthur's eyes focused on a pair of glowing pink pinpricks set in dark hollows. He flinched back, but a firm grip held him in place.

"My Mom's been going over this for decades, maybe centuries, and she never came up with a loophole like the one you just figured out. And you've had, what… a couple months?

Might have gone faster if you knew everything up front, too. I know you, and you can think your way out of whatever Demeter throws at you."

Arthur's ribcage closed on his lungs. A dog-like keen slipped out and he covered his mouth with his hands. "But… I c… couldn't… couldn't save… I…" Lewis' face twisted and warped as Arthur's eyes filled up. "I… couldn't…"

Sighing, Lewis gave Arthur's shoulders a firm shake. "Who? Who couldn't you save? Me? Aji? Kay? Obviously we were doomed to these fates from the start. If not you, it would have been someone else. But it was you, and now you're giving us a fighting chance. Also, you did save me. Twice now." His locket pulsed softly. "Once on the soldering block, and once in the cave. Arthur, I know that saving me is the reason you are the way you are now." The corners of Lewis' mouth pulled down, and he seemed to be struggling with his words. "Trusting you is hard. For a lot of reasons. But you've had my back, even when I didn't have yours. If you choose to do something, I'll do my best to believe you have good reason for it."

 _I thought I taught him not to be so stupidly naive._

Arthur crammed the foreign commentary back, taking a deep breath. "So. When. We go pick up your parents. Neither of you can interfere. No matter what I do. We need information from Teles, one way or another." He glanced at Dulcie out of the corner of his eye. "I'm sorry."

Dulcie wasn't looking him in the eye, but she nodded her head. "I'm not a baby."

Arthur turned back to Lewis, who had pulled back to his seat next to Aji. "Lewis. The second time you found me, in the alleyway behind the Dairy Queen. That alleyway was way too small for your mansion, how did you do it?"

"I sent a couple Deadbeats out to find you and track you. One watched you from overhead while the other returned to me. I used the images it brought back to visualize where you were, then focused on the homing beacon of the one left behind. I formed the mansion into the alleyway."

"But, Lew," Arthur repeated, "The mansion is too big for the alleyway."

Lewis shrugged.  
"I need to understand this, it's important."

"I don't know, Arthur." Irritation threaded Lewis' response. "It shows up where I envision it showing up, I don't understand the mechanics of it."

Arthur absently plucked at his sideburns, working through the possibilities. He glanced at the closet door. "Would you run a little experiment for me? You can make doors open up all over this place at will, and this place can appear at will where you want it to. Can you do that just for a door, like, if I open the closet, can I walk into my workshop at Uncle Lance's?"

Lewis raised an eyebrow at the thought, then turned to the closet door, his brows drawn together. "Try it," he muttered, staring at the closet.

Arthur stood, crossing to the closet, and opened the door. There was his workbench, scattered with demonology research, notes, and blueprints for the next upgrade of his prosthetic. He swayed. Had it just been a few days ago he'd left this place with Vivi, full of hopes that they could track down Chloe, Duet, and Lewis' murderer?

Hands on his shoulders pulled him back. Another smaller one took his flesh hand, tugging him back down to the floor.

"Right." His voice sounded farther away. He tried to focus on the hands touching him. "So. Let's talk about getting a couple Deadbeats into the facility with your parents."

….

It was easy getting down to the vaults. Too easy. The portraits in the hallway were more than happy to dump them through the floor a second time, though Vivi was pretty sure her fall lasted longer this time around. Mystery landed in a crouch. Vivi landed much less gracefully on her rear. An ear-splitting crack announced Chloe's landing, shattering tile for a yard in every direction.

Vivi picked herself up, readjusting her scarf, and approaching the trembling unicorn. "Hey, it's okay. We're almost there. They're not mean, just a little mischievous. We're alive, aren't we? After a…" She squinted up at the speck of light overhead. "Couple hundred foot fall. If they wanted to hurt us they would. And then Lewis would torch them."

At her words, torches sprang up in a gauntlet that stretched out ahead, ending in a circle of raised flame bowls that ringed a black coffin on the floor. Laying a hand on Chloe's side, Vivi nudged her into a slow walk, keeping pace. Mystery fell in on Vivi's other side, and they proceeded to the coffin.

Gingerly, Mystery unlatched the lid and swung it back. Duet-Quintet?-Solo's body lay inside, hands crossed at the chest.

Chloe hung her muzzle over the face, eyes roaming over the features as if looking for something. Abruptly, she swung her head around to face Vivi. "Where's the _Gikongan_?"

Vivi blinked. "The, ah…?"

" _Gikongan_! The artificial soul pills. Where are they?"

Vivi combed her mind for the reference, but came up blank. "Chloe, this isn't like… whatever anime you're-"

"Of course it is!" Chloe stamped a hoof. "I'm a magical girl who's been hidden for her own good, captured by a monster, and saved by my best friend and her ghost boyfriend. Now help me find the _Ginkongan_! They're around here somewhere, probably rolled out into the dark, and then we can wake Duet up." She turned, plodding out past the line of fire bowls.

Vivi hurried after her. "Chloe, there are no artificial souls."

"Yes there are!" Chloe picked up her hooves, trotting now, holding her head low and sweeping it back and forth. "How else could you have so many souls in one body? He was an experiment, Kurotsuchi probably held onto him until he escaped. Imagine what you could do with all those souls together in one place!"

"What, exactly, would that fantastic thing be?" Mystery's voice echoed from the circle of light.

"I don't know!" Chloe's tail lashed, snapping just behind Vivi with a crack. "I don't know, but it must be important, and we have to help Duet!"

"Chloe, you have to consider something about your assumption." Mystery kept an even tone as he paced the fiery perimeter. "Do you believe that Duet is mostly truthful and cares a great deal about you?"

"Of course I do!" she snapped. "He's the only one who's always been there for me, no matter what!"

"And he told you a bedtime story, yes?"

Vivi stumbled to keep out of Chloe's erratic search path.

"Yeah? What about it?"

"Chloe, if you believe him, why do you think he's lying about the bedtime story?" Vivi asked.

Chloe slowed to a halt.

"Are you hurting right now, Chloe?" Vivi pressed.

"N-no."

"You said you were always hurting before. Remember what Duet said?"

Chloe's flank shivered.

"He said you weren't supposed to be in human form. Not ever. That's why you were hurting. This is who you are, Chloe. Who you've always been. You're not a magical girl. You're a unicorn."

"No!" Chloe reared up with a scream, bringing her hooves down with a thunderous crack. "No! I'm a magical girl and there are _Ginkongan_ in this room, and if you don't help me find them, you're no friend of mine, Vivi!"

"He's dead, Chloe." Mystery's voice kept the same even tone. "They spent their souls to free you and save you from that monster, and pretending otherwise is the worst insult you could give their memory."

Chloe's breath caught mid-cry, her sides heaving. Approaching carefully, Vivi put her hands on Chloe's neck. Chloe was so tall now, even as a foal. How tall had the herd members been? "I'm sorry, Chloe. But what he did worked. Look at you, back the way you're supposed to be."

"And now what?" Chloe shouted. "Now what am I supposed to do, go back to the bookstore and curate anime for the shop? That would be great if I wasn't a sideshow freak all of a sudden! Oh, I know, how about I go romp in the woods and meadows eating rainbows and drinking the morning dew! Except how am I supposed to survive like this with no memory or instinct? Don't pretend, the nasty dog says. Fine! Since you're all the authority on what Duet would want for me, you tell me, what am I supposed to do now?"

The question rose up in pitch to a wail that echoed in the vault, rebounding a good five or six times before dying into silence.

Stretching up on her toes, Vivi wrapped her arms around Chloe's neck. It was so thick, she couldn't reach all the way around. Chloe's head came down and around, pressing against Vivi's back. "Oh, Vivi-chan, I don't know what to do. I didn't mean it. I didn't know this would happen."

"If you are quite through," Mystery called, "I might have an idea of what Duet would want you to do."

Chloe's ears flattened against her skull and Vivi tightened her arms around Chloe's neck, not that she could keep her still if she wanted, but she hoped Chloe had enough restraint to not flatten her guardian.

"You're a protected species, Chloe. What happened to you and your herd is unconscionable and equivalent to high treason, blasphemy, sacrilege, and so on." Mystery waved a hand with each point with a show of flippancy, but Vivi heard the tension in his words. "I'm not highly familiar with the gods that claim your kind, but word has spread far enough that even in my circle of gods and goddesses, we know not to harm a unicorn, and giving aid is considered mandatory if it is needed. If I were Duet, I would want you to return to your realm and report what has happened, so that the perpetrator is caught and punished."

"He threatened me. He said 'Once the gods find out, nothing will grow here for a thousand years!'" Vivi added. "He must have wanted you to reach the gods' realm."

"That would be wonderful, if I knew where it was or how to get there." Chloe hung her head. "I don't know anything. I have chopped up memories and," her eyes rolled up, nearly crossing, "a tiny little twisted horn. I don't even know how I did healing things before, how am I supposed to recreate that, much less world-hopping magics?"

"Chloe?"

She started, backing up and tossing her head as Mystery spoke from quite a bit closer. Vivi had been watching Chloe too closely to monitor his approach.

"I know I got us off to a bad start, and there is no amount of apologizing I can do to make up for it." Mystery pushed his spectacles up. "And I cannot teach you how to be a unicorn. But I am much more familiar with the use of magic than anyone in this structure. Perhaps I will be able to help you. In turn, we will need your help to cross to the other side ourselves. Would you be willing to work together to this end, Chloe?"

Her nostrils flared as she cast a sidelong look at Mystery, shifting between her front hooves.

Vivi tapped her flank to draw her attention. "Chloe, Mystery's always looked after me. He was a bushwhacked butterchurn for attacking you and he's fully admitting to that."

"I… admit to no such thing!" Mystery sputtered.

Opting to ignore him, Vivi continued. "If you trust me, Chloe, know that I trust him. I know he would never hurt me."

Out of the corner of her eye, she caught Mystery ducking his head.

 _Now what's wrong with that mangled apricot hellbeast?_ Shaking her head, she reaffirmed, "If he says he wants to help you, he means it. And we could really use your help, too. I mean, once you figure out the whole magical bit."

"I want some time alone with Duet," Chloe managed. "I need to think."

"Okay." Vivi stepped back as Chloe trudged toward the open coffin, nudging Mystery with her foot. "Hey. Furface. You've got your tail tucked."

"Vivi, in this form I don't even have a tail, why do you insist-you're referring to an expression of guilt, aren't you?"

"Ding ding ding, give the pup a treat."

He sighed, scratching behind his ear absently. "I had a little… talk… with Arthur. He seemed to think it would be good if I owned up to a couple of things. Since. We're in the business of sharing information now. And he's right."

Vivi crossed her arms, bracing herself. With that disclaimer, he was probably going to tell her he was some kind of eldritch god that required the souls of helpless maidens offered up on a weekly basis, except he'd taking a liking to her and she had proven to be the exception. Or maybe he'd say his time with them really was limited, and that he had to take off as soon as they reached the other side. Or maybe-

"I've spoken to you about how I've balanced out your emotional state when possible, or at least mitigated the worst of it. That is a partial truth. I absorb your emotional energies in these states, and take them for myself."

Vivi processed this for a minute, blinking. "You're a vampire?"

Mystery grimaced. "That's rather crass."

Her lips pursed as she drew on other information they'd gleaned. "So… you can drain emotions too. And memories. Like-" she cut herself off, but Mystery picked up where she'd left off.

"Like the Shiker. Yes." He held himself very still and straight, watching her. It struck her that he was waiting for some sort of judgment, perhaps an outburst or a tirade.

"Is there a reason you need it?" She asked, bluntly.

Mystery's eyes drifted a little as he considered his answer. "We were created without our own emotional energies. One of our duties was to gather the fervency and ardor of our creator's followers and bring it to her, along with any stolen worship we could glean from other followers. It never lasted long, we were meant to deliver those energies to her. But those few hours of being filled… it was life, Vivi." He fell silent for a few seconds. "No, I do not need it. But the excess is harmful to you, and allows me to recreate what I was not given at creation. I thought there was no harm in continuing as such, but Arthur felt very strongly I should tell you."

She rolled her shoulders, exhaling. "Well, that certainly wasn't the worst thing I thought might come outta your mouth. What is this, an apology? For what, taking the edge off the worst times of my life that happen on a regular basis?" She punched his shoulder lightly. "Knock it off already, we're too busy to get bogged down in every minor detail. If you want 'em, you can have 'em. It would be nice if the number of trips I take to the railroad tracks remains at one for the rest of my life."

His shoulders loosened and lowered, a smile touching the corners of his mouth. "On my honor."

….

 **Note:** Chapter title excerpted from The Cave by Mumford and Sons.


	9. Nothing Changed At All

Timothy stared down at the shreds of pink fluff in his hands. Why was he holding pink fluff? And why were his hands trembling?

His clothes were not his clothes either. He was dressed in some kind of skin-tight black suit with gray dots every few inches. He could even feel it on his scalp-had they shavedhis head? He reached up to find the rubbery suit perfectly matching the curve of his head.

Lab. He grabbed the fragment, trying to follow it before it vanished. Some kind of lab. Why would they be interested in him? Unless…

He lifted his head. He stood in a concrete room with a square floor about ten by ten feet. A chair. A table. A whiteboard and dry erase marker, the former filled with paragraphs of writing, or a word repeated over and over. Pieces of a dummy scattered on the ground. Actually it looked like a few dummies. And a lot of pink fluff.

One wall was half-filled with a darkened window. Probably one way glass. Two speakers hung at the upper corners on either side of the mirror.

"Drop in the next dummy."

Someone had left the mic on. A man's voice, irritated, but speaking to someone else. Timothy scanned the small room again. There. A door. He'd missed it the first time. He darted for it.

"Stop."

His wife's voice brought him to a screeching halt, his fingers inches from the door knob. Her voice had come over the speakers. Was she behind the window?

"Teles. What is going on?" His tongue was thick in his mouth. So dry. How long had he been there? Had he started to lose time? He didn't recall coming to this room.

And his wife wasn't answering.

He looked down at his suit again. He was a cook, not a scientist, but if those little gray dots weren't some kind of sensor he'd eat his apron. And if those were sensors, they weren't interested in him as much as his reactions.

To her voice.

"I know, I know, I want to get to the philanthropic implications of this too, but those people aren't the ones writing the checks right now. These guys want to know offensive capabilities." The irritated male voice pitched up and punctuated itself with a sigh. "Just drop the dummy in. Let's see if the conditioning has set. Subject is not to speak this time."

"Teles," Timothy croaked, "You have to tell me what's going on. What are they-"

Four ceiling panels pulled back. It wasn't the door they came through, it was the ceiling. A rack of dummies lowered to the floor, five white cloth bodies topped by mounds of different colored wigs. Yellow, brown, red, pink, purple-

 _Destroy the target with the pink hair. On completion, forget what you have been told and what you have done._

He blinked. His hands were full of pink fluff and he stood in the middle of a pile of dummy parts. How many dummies were there, and why was he in a room with spare dummy parts? There were four dummies rising back into the ceiling. They were untouched.

A male voice crackled from speakers set over a nearby window, too dark to see through. Probably one way glass. "First successful test, unprompted by Subject's speech. Subject is capable of mental conditioning."

…...

"We'll probably have to do the confrontation outside." Arthur slouched in his chair, tapping the dish in front of him with the tip of a metal finger. "Inside the mansion's no good. If Dulcie gets snatched right away then Lewis goes, and the whole mansion with him. No good everyone falling and getting injured."

Vivi glared at him, grabbing her cloth napkin and flinging it over his face. He swiped it off and glared right back. "Dinner's not ready yet. I'm still working out the details."

"It's almost ready, can you give it a rest for a few minutes?" Vivi hissed. "Everyone needs a break, you included."

They sat at a lengthy rectangular dining table set with china plates and pewter candlesticks. Arthur had taken a seat toward the middle. Dulcie sat right next to him with Aji quite a bit further down. Mystery and Vivi had taken up seats across from Arthur. Chloe, the only standing member, tried to hold a position near Vivi, but shied away whenever Arthur looked up.

He dropped his eyes back down to the plate as her hooves stuttered off, trying to keep them there. It wasn't like he knew Chloe that well, so her fear shouldn't sting.

 _She knows what you are._

He glanced down at Dulcie, fidgeting with the necklace cord and kicking her legs. _She_ knew what he was, and she wasn't scared.

 _She wasn't assaulted by what you are._

Arthur massaged his temples. The Shiker was dead, that much was clear to him. What was also clear was the massive memory dump had split off a part his mind that acted and spoke like the Shiker. He could feel his brain still trying to reconcile what had happened to him. If anything, he had new appreciation for the lengths the brain would go to protect itself; there was no way he could have absorbed a few hundred years of another person's lifespan without short circuiting permanently.

Unfortunately there wasn't a way to ensure that part wouldn't ever take over.

 _Acknowledge me._

Arthur snuck another sidelong look at Aji, several seats down. Not for the first time he wondered at her distance from Dulcie. She had been glued to Lewis since seeing him, but not once had she held Dulcie or picked her up or made any sort of sisterly gesture toward her. In fact, the only time he'd seen her touch her little sister had been after she'd delivered a beatdown to him, then grabbed Dulcie's hand and led her off at their mother's command. And Dulcie hadn't really fallen apart when she heard Kay had died, like she had over Lewis' death. Come to think of it, even Kay had never talked much about her sisters to him. He'd never had sisters, was that normal? It couldn't be completely normal, they all gushed about Lewis, and Lewis always used to talk up their shenanigans to him. So why didn't the sisters talk about each other?

A glorious scent drifted up to his nose, derailing any thought but how long it had it been since he'd eaten.

Deadbeats drew a loaded cart into the room, sweet and savory scents mingling in the air around the loaded dishes. A second cart followed, this one hidden under a cloth. Then Lewis entered the room, dressed in a bleached-white waistcoat with a high pink collar and a double row of brown buttons. A white apron tied at the waist and brown slacks led down to simple brown flats. A white napkin was draped over his right arm, and with his left he picked up a plate stacked high with waffles. "Dinner is served."

Arthur remembered the uniform well. Lewis was always in that getup when Arthur swung by the Pepper Paradiso for a late afternoon snack or early dinner. He was perfectly courteous with the customers, but he'd knock Arthur's water over or dump a plate of french fries in his lap with a cheeky grin. The salt shakers at his table had chronically loose tops, too. It became a game, Arthur trying to anticipate Lewis' moves and counter them before the prank completed-

 _Lewis' face gaping in horror. His screams on the way down._

Arthur's fist hit the table, his eyes clenched shut as he tried to wipe out the image. "Gonna play it that way, huh?" he muttered to himself.

An uncomfortable silence settled around him, and he forced himself to relax, dropping his hands to his lap. "Sorry. Just. Keep going."

Arthur felt Lewis' eyes on him as the ghost circled the table to place the stack of waffles in front of Dulcie. Strawberries and whipped cream had been heaped at the top and piled around the bottom edges. A watery smile spread across her face and she beamed up at Lewis before scooping up her utensils and digging in.

Aji received her seared salmon and rice pilaf in silence, keeping her head down.

Turning to the covered cart, Lewis pulled it over to Arthur, who raised an eyebrow. With a practiced flourish, Lewis removed the covering. The smell Arthur caught earlier assaulted him with a glorious blend of salt, grease, and fish.

"Mystery mentioned you'd need extra protein," Lewis explained, picking up the first pizza. "And extra food after shifting like that."

Arthur blinked. There wasn't any information in his head about that. "Mystery?"

"You're not a natural shapeshifter, Arthur. This whole situation is a first," Mystery explained. "When you shift you have to tear your natural body apart at the cellular level. That's why it hurts so much. It costs me nothing, but it costs you quite a bit. I strongly suspect that you'll need more food than usual after a shift, especially protein."

Lewis laid the first platter in front of him. The gang teased him all the time about his favorite pizza, and how he single-handedly kept the bizarre topping on the menu at the local dive. And yet Lewis had made him not one, not two, but five Surf's Up Surprise pizzas, piled triple thick with seafood.

Dulcie grimaced, scooting about a foot away and taking her waffles with her. Arthur sighed.

"Can you blame her?" Lewis whispered in his ear. Arthur tensed, waiting for an incriminating end to the sentence. "If I still had my sense of smell, I'd be on the other end of the room too."

Startled, Arthur glanced up. There was a small smile on Lewis' face, and a playful crinkle at the corners of the hollow eyes. The corners of Arthur's mouth lifted to match. "I guess I can't blame her." He tugged a slice free, raising it in toast. "Compliments to the chef."

The first bite of cheese and oysters shut all thought down, and then he could not get enough. The pizza began to vanish at the rate of a second-hand circling a clock face. Vivi snorted, but he didn't care. He was probably stretching his mouth wider than it was supposed to go, but _gods_ he hadn't realized how hungry he was. Bless Mystery for his tip to Lewis, one pizza wouldn't be nearly enough.

Lewis set a dish in front of Vivi, and Arthur didn't have to see it to name it. Vivi had mocked their pronunciation until they got it correct, and it had taken Arthur a lot longer than Lewis to say and spell okonomiyaki correctly. Mystery was given a whole salmon, uncooked by the smell of it. It was more than a little disconcerting to see him set on it in human form, but Arthur gathered he was trying to be courteous to Chloe.

"Where'd you get all the ingredients, Lewis?" Vivi asked around a mouthful.

"Um… my parents' kitchen," Lewis answered quickly. "Sent the Deadbeats over. Lots of red tape, the food was going to go bad anyway."

 _Liar,_ Arthur thought. _You don't keep whole salmon like that, and they wouldn't cook my pizza if I paid them triple._ He wiped his hands on his pants, reaching for the second pizza. If Lewis had Deadbeats shoplifting ingredients, he wasn't about to rat him out. It was the least of their concerns.

Lastly, Lewis brought out a salad mixing bowl and set it in front of Chloe. "Stir-fry-a-la-honey," he said quietly. "Vivi told me how to make it." He set a wide-lipped bowl of milk next to the salad bowl full of stir fry. Chloe only stared at it, lips twitching. Lewis shot a questioning look at Vivi, but Vivi was far too involved in her okonomiyaki to notice.

"Come on, Chloe. Try some." Lewis cranked up a smile. "Might not be meadow moss, but it's probably more familiar right now."

Chloe's nostrils flared, but she didn't move.

Dropping the smile, Lewis reached up a hesitant hand and laid it on her side. His other hand glowed briefly, the purple flash collecting itself into a stiff bristle brush. "Hey. You're still here. I thought maybe you'd have run away by now." He raised the brush and pressed it against her flank, drawing it firmly across. "Hey. You're still here." Lift. Press. Brush. "I thought maybe you'd have run away by now." His voice settled into a cadence, and Arthur paused halfway through his third pizza, mesmerized. What was Lewis doing?

Her eyelids drooped.

"Hey. You're still here. I thought maybe you'd have run away by now." Lewis' voice had changed by the fourth repetition, the rich baritone giving way to the high pitch of a child's voice. "I brought you some food. Eat up, so you can get strong and we can bust outta here."

"Okay," she murmured, lowering her muzzle into the salad bowl.

Arthur shook his head as Lewis pressed his lips together and patted her side. Some part of her remembered enough to respond. Had Lewis greeted her that way as a child?

"Hey, Arthur. How's the pizza?" Lewis watched him from across the table.

"You really nailed it." Arthur inhaled another slice of oyster-laden goodness.

"What is that, the third one?"

"Mhmm." Arthur hesitated, an old instinct kicking in. "Why?"

"No reason." Lewis turned his head quickly. Like he always did before-

The burn hit. Heat crawled down his tongue and through his esophagus, splitting off to scorch its way up his nasal passages. Grabbing his throat, he pounded the table, his eyes watering, waving frantically.

"Lewis, you abominable mustard anime, are you _trying_ to set him off?" Vivi groaned, grabbing her glass of water and sliding it across to Arthur.

"Oh! I know that anime!" Chloe's tail flicked rapidly. "Mustard Fairy Dojo Detective! It truly was abominable, and I don't just mean the dub. The animation on the Kiki-Wiki clan made me want to vomit, and everyone _knows_ you don't get a Seijin writer to do a Shoujo."

Lewis leaned against the wall, smirking. "Come on, Vivi. A bhut jolokia never killed anyone. I should know."

Deadbeats flooded the room. Arthur scattered them with the single directive, "MILK!" Vivi's glass was already drained and sweat dripped off his face. Thirty eternal seconds later, three plastic gallons of milk landed in front of him. He ripped one open, splashing it all over the table, and stuck his face in the soothing liquid.

Relief. Not complete relief, but enough to gather his wits again. The effects were fading faster than they usually did but he still couldn't feel his tongue.

Slowly, he lifted his face from the milk and stood. No breath stirred the air as he circled around the table. Chloe darted to the far end of the table as he stormed up to Lewis, who regarded him with a steady eye and stiffly set shoulders. Arthur swung, his fist passing through Lewis' shoulder.

"Jerk," he sputtered, spewing milk droplets. "That'th going to burn on the way out, too!"

Lewis' tension cracked with a grin. "Knew you'd like it."

Arthur wrapped his arms around Lewis, and the specter held solid, returning the gesture. "Mith'ed you."

"Yeah. I missed you too. Kind of." Lewis coughed. "I'll work on my aim."

The remainder of the meal passed in slightly less uneasy silence. As Lewis' Deadbeats began to clear away the dishes, Arthur called up one of his own. He focused his attention on Vivi, burning her face into what was left of the Deadbeat's mind. Chirping, it swooped down and settled itself around her shoulders.

"What the…?" She reached up to pet its head, glancing at Lewis. "Oookay?"

Lewis frowned. "Arthur, what are you doing? That's not one of mine."

"Nothing. Just experimenting. Sorry." He waved his hand to send it off, but the Deadbeat no longer responded to him. Perfect. Maybe he could tie a couple more to her before the jailbreak. Couldn't hurt having a backup messenger or… or two… or…

Two Vivis… three. Three Vivis and two of Lewis. He lifted his hand to rub his eyes, but it was too far to lift.

"Squire? Aji, catch him!"

The floor was very comfortable. They could plan the jailbreak later.

"Great. We lost Squire. Help me get him back to the room."

"Maybe he'll turn into a wolf, like they did in Wolf's Rain. But he'll be like Lord Darcia and turn on all the other wolves."

"Not now, Chloe!"

 _So tired…_

….

 _You've had your fun. You've had time to talk and put your heads together and playact like you know what you're doing. Now you are going to listen to me._

 _My survival is linked to yours. Do you understand? And you won't last ten seconds, because the moment Demeter orders you to do something you find distasteful, you will waver. You will think about it. You will weigh whether or not you are willing, and even in that moment of hesitation you have given us away._

 _You wish to turn on her. I have turned on a goddess before and I can do it again. Demeter granted me the power and will to break free, but I have no love for her. I would have no bonds to anyone if I could._

 _Why should you trust me? You shouldn't. You know that, and I could not hide it from you if I wanted. We are one for now, but in the end it will be me who remains as you fade away. I am stronger, I am older, and I am willing to do whatever it takes to survive and overcome you. Doing this will be much easier and less dangerous if I am already free of Demeter._

 _You bring fresh eyes to an ancient quarrel and its tangle of casualties. Your vengeance will keep you sharp for the opportunity you seek. I will work with you toward this one goal. But once we are through, this is my life, and you are not welcome._

…..

 **Note:** Chapter title references a line from Bastille's song Pompeii.


	10. Put On Your War Paint

"You can't trust him!" Lewis loomed over Arthur, his fingers hooked claw-like too close to Arthur's face. Flame seeped from his gloves, and Arthur could just make out the skull behind Lewis' increasingly transparent face. Aji wouldn't meet Arthur's eyes and kept a good four feet between them. Maybe pulling them aside to talk about the Shiker's threat hadn't been the brightest waking thought he'd ever had.

"Lew, your bones are showing. Dulcie is just down the hall, and Aji-"

"They'll see it soon enough! You can't lean on him. You have to fight him for every inch. He plays the long game and he always wins."

"Nice to know you still care."

"This isn't a joke. Look at me! I was free and clear, right? But no! I walked right back into his game. And you can't even walk off, he's with you every second. He'll make you forget yourself, Arthur. That's what he does. It isn't the person who's betrayed who forgets who they are." Lewis' face twisted as he spat, "It's the person who does the terrible things, the one that breaks other people. Then it's all over."

Arthur didn't need it spelled out to him. Harvey was the first name that came to mind, followed by Lewis who then turned on Arthur. A chain reaction was set in place; the broken one turned to break another, and with the Shiker ever-present to him, it was Arthur's turn.

"It doesn't matter, Lew." Arthur leaned against the wall, fingering the panel on his prosthetic. "Even if we save Dulcie there is no going back for me. We've reached an understanding with ourselves."

"Fill us in on this 'understanding'." Aji spoke to the plush carpeting.

"The Shiker part of me helps me take down Demeter any way we can. As soon as that's done, he intends to be the main inhabitant of my mind. If he can take me alive, anyway."

Lewis' eyes widened and the flames licking his gloves snuffed out. "Arthur. No."

"Arthur, yes." He lifted his chin. "I told you to roast me before the Shiker could get me. So it didn't work out that way, fine. But I will not have this creep running around in my skin ruining things for whoever's left alive. You of all people should understand."

Lewis' hair seethed, licking out in all directions. "Understanding it doesn't mean liking it. There has to be something else to fix this."

"That something else died in the caves," Arthur growled. Aji didn't move a muscle, but she had stopped breathing. Running a hand through his hair, Arthur brought his voice back down. "Look. She… she might have been able to keep me in check, Lew. It wasn't just because of her voice, whatever she thinks-thought. I cared about her before she used her voice on me. And when she did use it, it was like I'd been wandering through a fog my whole life, just fumbling around and hoping I was going in the right direction. Then all of a sudden, there's a clear path to follow. I knew exactly who I was and what to do and where to go." His throat tightened. "And at the end of that path, there's this beautiful, gentle woman who's scared to death that she's put me in some kind of eternal slavery. And I could never convince her…" He trailed off. Aji's curls covered the upper half of her face, but tell-tale tracks glistened from under them. He shook himself. No point twisting the knife. "No, Lewis. Nobody can keep the Shiker in check forever. Not even me. And if it comes down to it, I'll make sure I'm completely unusable."

"And he knows this?" Lewis gestured at Arthur's head.

"Oh, he knows." Arthur smirked, a tinge of green coloring the edge of his vision. "He thinks I'm funny. But we'll see who gets the last laugh later. For now, we should get ready to spring your parents. ETA on the Deadbeat scouts?"

"They should be back soon. Four sent, two coming back. One will stay with each of them, two will return to report on their positions."

"Good. I'll need you to tell Chloe to hightail it several miles away. Mystery will be able to track her after this mess, but she shouldn't be in range of Demeter." The green spread farther as Arthur gleaned information from the Shiker. "Demeter doesn't know the herd dropped a foal. As long as she doesn't know Chloe exists, she's safe."

"The Shiker never reported things to her?" Lewis asked.

"He did, but she never visited the compound and he didn't think that detail was important. She was only ever interested in collecting curses from him."

"Has she used them?"

"Can't say." Arthur combed through streams of thought, looking for any mention of what Demeter used the curses for. "I don't really care what she does with them. They are works of art in themselves, each worthy of its own shrine and worship." _Your eyelids sink. You are tired._ "It is the crafting of the curse, the art of growing them. That is what I care for." _Your hands lift, reaching for Lewis. The soul of the broken man is still a child_.

"Kingsmen!"

"KNNNGH!" Arthur jerked his hands back to his chest, sweat running down his face. "Working. Together." He snarled at himself. "Means _not_ attacking my friends!"

Derisive laughter echoed in his head.

Lewis hadn't moved, but Aji had halved the distance between them and stood, knees just bent, arms stiff at her sides. He had her full attention now, and he turned aside. "It's fine," he muttered. "He's pulling back for now. He's just toying with me. You. Us." Arthur rubbed his hands over his face. "So, we're going to need you to conduct two doors to your parents, Lewis. One for Aji, one for Mystery. If I'm going to break Mrs. Pepper, we'll have to start with a good dose of shock, so Mystery can lead her outside to me. Optimally Vivi should hide nearby, but every Pepper should be visible. Aji, don't say a word to your mother about our plan until Dulcie is snatched. The less leaks we have the better, but she may be able to help once she's in on it."

He glanced up. Aji continued to scrutinize him. "What?"

Dropping her eyes again, she scuffed her sneaker against the wood moulding. "Nothing."

"Right. Lewis, better say goodbyes just in case." Arthur turned, heading for the front door.

"What are you going to do?" Lewis asked.

"Get in character." Arthur twisted the knob. "After all, she and I have history now."

…..

Prolonged exposure. Maybe that was why he was starting to see things. Teles had never ordered him about as much as she had these last few… hours? Days? How long had they been there?

Timothy couldn't get anything out of the white-coated assistants that moved him from room to room, setting up and taking down various props he was commanded to interact with and recording his every reaction. Sometimes they would leave him in a locked room, and he was certain he lost time whenever that happened. He would blink and there would be dummy parts strewn around the room.

And Teles never answered his questions. He would see her sometimes being led into adjoining rooms. They were never in the same room at the same time, and when he saw her it was always with an angular white device clamped to the lower half of her face, covering her from nose to chin. She was always in the company of a man with thick, bulbous blue goggles and a long black trench coat. The only question the assistants would answer him was the man's name and title; Dr. D.U. Membrane, leading researcher in paranormal events and activities.

Whatever was going on, he doubted he or Teles would see daylight again. Leaning on their citizenship wouldn't help, not if Teles could be coerced into performing as weaponry on behalf of the country. "Greater Good" would take precedence.

It would be fine. He could handle it. He would take it all if he could just know they were okay. All three of them. Lewis was the only one that had been cursed to die, right? And madness could be healed from, murder and cages could be fled. One word that his daughters were well and free. That's all he wanted.

Instead, he had a small pink blob with a yellow heart on its chest and soft black eyes regarding him from the upper right corner of his small cell. Obviously ongoing exposure to Teles' commands was driving him mad.

It hadn't spoken or responded to any attempts to get it to come down. Its eyes shifted, tracking his movements, but nothing else happened. It had been there for several hours now. He sat on his cot, his back pressed to the cement wall. If he leaned back hard enough, the tremors weren't as bad. Forks and knives had become an issue lately, and spoons were the worst. Sometimes he'd shake half the food off his spoon before it made it up to his mouth. It was better to drink soup straight from the bowl at this point. Another effect? Or maybe it was just sleep deprivation.

The food was terrible anyway. He'd talk to the next assistant that came. The least they could do was let him manage the kitchen while he was their lab rat. He needed _something_ to do, and they needed food that wasn't pigslop.

The door rattled, and his fingers clenched at the edge of the cot. Was his rest period over already? Weary, he looked up, expectant.

The blob had moved. Now it hovered in front of the knob, chittering excitedly as the edges of the door lit up in bright pink. It grabbed the doorknob, tugging.

"You're wasting your time," Timothy mumbled, "It's locked from the outside. I already tried, there's no… way…"

The door swung open. A man stood there, dressed in a pressed white shirt and black pants that would have given him some air of formality, had his hair not been a bizarre mix of brick red striped with brown. Timothy couldn't see the usual concrete hall behind him. They must have redesigned the section they kept him in.

"Into a vintage homestead?" He groaned, rising to his feet. "Listen, if you need to run more tests, you should let me get a full night's sleep, I'm starting to see things."

"You're not seeing anything, Mr. Pepper." The man crossed into his cell, taking his arm. "This is a rescue, and we need you to come right away."

"Rescue my potatoes." Timothy yanked his arm back. "Who are you? I don't know you. What's the point of this experiment, see how much mental strain the labrat can take?"

"See, told you he wouldn't go with you." Vivi. Vivi was there, gripping the doorframe and hanging partway into his cell. "Aren't you glad I stuck around? Familiar faces always do the trick. Hey, Mr. Pepper, he's right. This is a rescue, but we kind of need you to hurry, this is Lewis' first time doing portals."

No more questions. Timothy dived through the doorway, the strange man right on his heels. There was a sound like old wood creaking and sighing behind. When he turned back, there was only a closed door, black and charred, with wisps of smoke rising from the wood.

And then his mind caught up. "You said Lewis."

Vivi sidled up to him, taking his arm. "Yeah, I said Lewis. Do me a huge favor and keep looking at me, okay? I'll show you Lewis in a minute, but he really needs to concentrate, because I don't see Mrs. Pepper yet."

Timothy's mind blanked. Lewis was there. Was he alive? No, he couldn't be. He'd seen the boy's body in the morgue.

 _Ghost_. That's what Vivi had said in the hotel room, right before he told them about Teles. He hadn't paid it much mind. Not that he didn't trust the Skulls, but he'd never seen a ghost himself, and it was unlikely one would ever visit him.

But one was. Or, one had freed him. And it was Lewis.

 _What do I say?_

"Aw, Mr. Pepper, I'm sure it won't be that hard." Vivi was holding both his arms. When did she get so strong? And when did his knees get so shaky? Had he spoken aloud?

His daughters. He knew how Lewis was already. He had to ask Vivi how his daughters were. She would know.

"Dulcie's here," Vivi said softly. "Aji is getting Mrs. Pepper now. They're fine."

 _But, I didn't ask you the question, I only thought it._

"No, Mr. Pepper, you're saying it to me."

She couldn't keep him up any longer. His knees hit the floor. His new surroundings were real, and so was the pink blob that hovered just over Vivi's shoulder, but something was wrong. And the tremors were back.

"I know, Mr. Pepper. I see them." Vivi came down with him, reaching up to peel back the rubber suit from his head. "I'm sure the shaking will go away with rest."

"But something's wrong in my head!" He exclaimed. Vivi went on as if he hadn't said anything, and he wondered if he had.

She hadn't said anything about Kay.

Her body tensed, and she bit her lip. Something had happened to Kay. "Where is she?" He grabbed her shoulders. "Where is Kay?"

"Dad?"

Aji's voice. He whirled. Behind him stood a broad-shouldered man in black funeral-wear, a set of white slashes-no, ribs-hugging the outside of the suit. Thick arms lowered to his sides as his shoulders slumped and he stumbled back from another charred-black door. Teles crouched on her hands and knees, hair tumbled over her face, while Aji stood next to her.

He launched to his feet with a cry, stumbling toward her. Aji caught him in a fierce hug, squeezing the air from his lungs.

"I'm sorry." She buried her face in his shoulder. "I'm sorry, Dad. I'm sorry."

He didn't have words. Or maybe he did. He wasn't sure if he was speaking or not, but she was there. She was there, and safe, and in one piece. One daughter was alright.

"Hi, Dad."

Timothy lifted his head, and there he was. His eyes were different, but there was no mistaking Lewis. Even the way he tried to jam his hands in his pockets when he wasn't sure what to say or do, except none of his pants ever had pockets big enough for those hands.

Releasing Aji, Timothy took a step toward Lewis, his throat thick. If he tried to say something, would it even come out, or would it stay stuck in his head? Was he speaking now? There was no way to be sure, but he reached out, touching shaky fingers to the chest of the funeral outfit. Lewis didn't move, and he could feel a solid form beneath his hands.

"Really here." Lewis was still looking at him. Waiting for some other reaction.

Timothy didn't know anymore. He knotted his hands in the suit for support, and Lewis' arms came around to hold him up. Why couldn't he stand straight on his own?

"Stand," Teles murmured from behind.

Suddenly his body held itself up as was right and correct and proper. Of course he could stand on his own, it was silly to question that.

But Lewis' grip on him tightened, and the expression shifted to something harder. "Hello, Mrs. Pepper."

Lewis never called her that anymore. He was never that formal. He'd started calling her Mom a year and a half in.

"Lewis, don't." Aji came up from the side, laying a hand on his arm. "She's been through a lot. They had her wired to all kinds of machines, and I couldn't break that thing off her face."

"Don't tell me what to do." Lewis' voice was cold and carried an echo to it now. "I haven't dragged her out front by her hair to him, and she should be grateful."

This wasn't like Lewis. Maybe there was some mistake. Or maybe he was seeing thing again. That was probably it, because Lewis' face was peeling back to reveal a flaming, floating skull that hovered over an empty suit.

"Timothy, you'd should find Dulcie." Teles kept her head down. She hadn't risen from the ground. His heart ached for her. She must have gone mad to think she should kill their child, but that's all it was. Madness. Some part of her still cared for Dulcie, else she wouldn't have him go find her now.

He nodded, turning to Aji. "Where is your sister, Aji?"

"Where we're all going," Lewis answered, sweeping past and grabbing Teles by the arm. "Out front. She's got a visitor to greet and he doesn't like to be kept waiting."

It didn't make sense. None of it did. Why was Lewis acting this way? Why was his own mouth moving when he only thought words? He felt like an old man, clinging to Aji's arm for support as she helped him out the front door and down rickety wooden steps. A mansion, he had just exited a mansion after being abducted to a laboratory. Surely insanity was around the corner.

The mansion sprawled itself in an empty field. Somewhere at the edge there were lights twinkling in the dark, maybe a farmhouse, but too far to hear him scream. If it was even real. Vivi and the stranger hung close at his other elbow, Vivi occasionally grabbing his elbow to help him walk. He'd been able to stand straight a moment before, why had his strength faded?

Teles would know. Teles would tell him what to do. But she had, hadn't she? Find Dulcie. Nobody told him where Dulcie was. He had to find her and hold her, and tell her she was safe, and nobody would hurt her ever again.

Up ahead there was a form standing with its back to them. Green swirled around the body, giving it visibility, but he couldn't tell if it was someone they knew, not until he could see the face. Maybe it would turn in a minute, they were only a few yards off.

There she was! Standing by the greenish form, holding hands with it and staring up with that sad, solemn look. His sweet little girl. There was so much green, he could barely make out the rainbow on her shirt. The days-old bluejeans. The mounds of fluffed pink hair in her trademark pigtails-

 _Pink hair._

 _..._

 **Note:** Chapter title excerpted from Fall Out Boy's song The Phoenix


	11. But I'm Giving In

It was strange to feel the weathered wood railing under his hand and know that it was only there at the will of his deceased friend. Arthur hadn't really stopped to think about the mansion beyond its most urgent, immediate solutions to their needs. If there had been more time, he and Vivi would be pounding Lewis with all kinds of questions. Ghosts weren't usually that helpful to them, but this was Lewis. He'd understand their curiosity. Heck, maybe they could have helped him figure out things he didn't know, too.

From the front porch, he could just make out Chloe's hindquarters vanishing into the night. She would find a place to hunker down and wait. It was for the best, they needed an ace in the hole. Dulcie was still waving after her from the lower step. Steeling himself, Arthur hefted a large stone jar in one arm and descended.

"Hey." He tapped her shoulder. "You ready? We need to head out there."

She nodded, slipping her hand in his. Her fingers cut off his circulation.

"Nervous about seeing your Mom again?"

Dulcie didn't answer.

"Well, and about Demeter and everything else, of course." He squeezed her hand. "Your mom can't hurt you, Dulcie. We're all here for you. And Demeter, well." He gave a reassuring smile. "We're working on it. You've got the best chance of anybody right now."

They walked in silence for a few minutes. Lewis had landed them in an empty field. There were lights off in the distance, but he could barely make them out. Not close enough to be of concern. Dry grass rustled underfoot, and he formed a bright green flame atop the jar for light.

"Hey, Dulcie?" Arthur glanced down. "I just wanted to say… some of the stuff I'll have to do and say… I don't really-"

Dulcie dropped his hand, turned, and wrapped her arms around his waist. "Stoppit. Stop saying sorry."

Arthur swallowed past the lump in his throat, patting her back. "I'm sor-I mean, I just wish you hadn't been handed a steaming pile of bad luck like this."

"You too," she said quietly.

Arthur cranked up half a grin. "Yeah. Well. I kind of took it on, didn't I? You never asked for this." He knelt down, setting the jar on the ground and reaching into his vest pocket. He withdrew one gold feather. "I know you've got lots of little reminders to be brave, but never hurts to have another one. From someone else I thought was awfully brave."

Dulcie bit her lip, accepting the feather and tucking it into the rainbow clip. She reached out, taking both his hands as he stood. "Arthur?"

"Yeah?"

She glanced down, then back up again. "Thank you. For trying."

He squeezed her hands tightly. "If I live long enough to have kids, Dulcie, I hope they're half as brave as you."

 _You know all three reasons that sentence will never come true._

The mansion door slammed open in the distance. He straightened, keeping hold of Dulcie's hands. Reaching into the darker parts of his mind and soul, he began lighting the air around him with small green orbs, casting enough of a glow to highlight their location while still keeping a good deal of shadow on him.

"Don't forget," Dulcie urged, clenching her fingers around his. "Promise me you won't forget!"

Footsteps. They were coming closer.

Arthur's eyes softened. "I couldn't if I wanted to. Somebody wrote my name in permanent marker all over my arm."

A guttural cry sounded behind him, and Arthur tensed. Whirling, he saw a head bearing down on him. Just a head. But not coming at _him_ , the face stared down and _past_ him…

His prosthetic came up and around, latching onto the face and throwing it back. A whole body thunked to the ground, and as Arthur scrambled for visual detail he realized it was black clothing messing with perception. There was a whole man there, sprawled on his back. Traces of green vines poked out here and there from the suit.

Only a moment and he was back on his feet, but Aji had caught up. "Dad!" She grabbed his arm, dragging him back. "Dad, stop!"

This was Mr. Pepper? Arthur hardly recognized the man without his hair.

Mr. Pepper's body seized at Aji's voice, his eyes bulging. His upper body strained forward, but his legs made no further move.

"Go, Timothy." Arthur started as Teles' voice rang out.

Mr. Pepper charged again, reaching past him. But why-

 _You know why. Clever, Teles. Very clever._

With a feral snarl, Arthur seized Mr. Pepper by the shoulders and threw him to the ground, pinning him there. "Stop this!"

Again, his body seized. He raked his fingers through the dirt, mouth opened in an agonized wail as he stared past Arthur at his youngest daughter.

For a moment, it registered that he had just commanded Mr. Pepper against another siren's command, and Mr. Pepper had obeyed.

 _You have possession of another voice he was bound to. Stop wasting our time over useless details._

A quick glance confirmed Lewis' hands over Teles' mouth. She wouldn't be giving any more commands. But Mr. Pepper had already been on the attack without a command. At least, not one that he'd heard. Unless it had been given beforehand. But it would have had to be something specific to be triggered at a certain time. The most basic triggers were visual and audio, and Dulcie wasn't very loud. On a hunch, he clapped his hands over Mr. Pepper's eyes.

The man melted into a nerveless pile of tremors.

Aji looked over at Arthur, eyes wide. "What just happened?"

 _You're already losing ground in your little act. You can't take the time to explain._

Arthur grabbed the hem of his pants. His fingertips sharpened to points even as his brain shrieked that he'd run his fingers over a stack of razors. He tore off a long segment of his pant leg, tying it over Mr. Pepper's eyes. "Keep him blind until she's gone," he muttered under his breath.

 _You're wasting time. Will you let me do my part?_

There was still time. He looked back to check on Dulcie.

Her mouth hung open, gasping like she'd been punched in the stomach. Silent cries hissed hard and sharp on the air as she watched her father stop twitching toward her.

 _Oh my. That anger. That is… mossst exquisssssite._

Slowly, Arthur grasped the jar by the neck and stood to his feet, the glow around him brightening as his head swiveled forward. His lips pulled back, away from the extra teeth cramming a path through his gums as he made his way toward Lewis and Teles.

 _This is delightful. You don't even need me._

He must have been a sight. Lewis' hair was perfectly still, and the ghosts eye's were locked on him, the pink pupils shrinking to pinpricks as Arthur approached. But he wasn't there for Lewis.

Arthur waved a hand and Lewis released Teles. Now Arthur could see the device on the lower half of Teles' face. A one-piece frame with chrome grating in the front extended at least an inch from her mouth with a dial set in the side. At a guess, the dial inhibited sound by varying degrees. Obviously it was on full blast.

"Who are you?" Her voice held steady, but he could _smell_ the fear. "How do you have the voice?"

He paced off a slow, deliberate circle, ignoring her question. He had never seen the curse on Teles before, but there it was, flourishing so densely on her that he could hardly see locked every inch of the vines tight to her body. Red blooms the size and shade of Aji's curse had burst bright and wild along her arms, and on her head coiled a wreath of shriveled yellow blossoms. So, she knew even at a distance which curses had been fulfilled. Possibly even, judging by the state of the yellow flowers, if a daughter had died. As he stopped in front of her, his lips twisted in a mock smile. "Mrs. Pepper, I'm hurt. You don't know me, truly?"

"No." Her stance had changed, slightly crouched, and sharp points gleamed at her fingertips. "You are no one I know."

"I suppose my appearance has changed. I had a bit of an accident recently and, well." His smile stretched wide. Wider. Up to the corners of his eyes. "I wanted to pay a visit to an old friend."

"I don't _know_ you!" Teles insisted, circling to his right. "I need to see my daughter-"

He lunged forward, catching her by the shoulders and shaking her. "Which one?" He roared. "The one you damned to madness? The one you damned to murder? Or the one you damned to captivity?"

"I didn't-"

"By. Your. Silence!" Arthur's jaw unhinged as he roared in her face. "By your silence you have damned every member of your family! Help came knocking at your door, begging and pleading, and you _turned it away!_ And now," his voice dropped to a raspy chuckle. "Now you have even damned me."

 _I didn't know you had it in you. The puppet continues to surprise._

Talons raked his face and he reeled back, the skin flayed.

"Arthur!" Vivi's horror was a distant sound under the roaring that filled his ears. The flesh knit back together and he spat a mouthful of blood at Teles' feet, green flame licking along his skin.

 _You should burn her for that. It wouldn't even matter, the curse would heal her. Just a few days of pain to suffer through._

Instead, he leaned toward Teles, whispering, "There's not enough Arthur left. Arthur is fading. Going, going, gone. But he wanted you to know something before he disappeared." And the smile nearly separated his head in two. "You deserve everything that's coming to you."

And then he threw his head back, clawing at his throat and staggering like a drunk. The fearsmell assaulted him from all around. Good. If his team couldn't tell what was an act, Teles wouldn't be able to either. At least Lewis and Aji weren't interfering.

His head snapped up and his eyes fixed on Teles. "It has been a long time, Teles. You're looking well." She gave a short gasp and turned on her heel, but Arthur caught her by the arm, wrenching her back. With one swift jerk he ripped the device from her face, nearly snapping her neck. "Don't be frightened, little bird, don't cry. I have a present for you."

Crouching, he lifted the stone jar from the ground. "I've been saving it all these years. Do you miss your sisters, little bird? Don't miss your sisters. They're right here." And he upended it.

Feathers poured from the opening. The hues were muddled by the dark and his own green light, but he knew them by heart. Chocolate brown and raven black feathers in a pile on the ground, intermixed with deep, garnet colored plumes.

Teles rent the night with a cry like a hawk scream, falling to the ground and plunging her hands into the pile. Arthur watched her, impassive. Out of the corner of his eye, he saw Mystery had hands clapped over Vivi's ears. The siren's cry had no effect on him this time. Perhaps the owner of a siren voice was immune. He stepped up to the pile, his sneakers brushing the edge. He squatted, eyeing her. "But for all these colors, something is missing. I wonder, what could it be?"

 _So cold. So hateful._

He lifted his head, as if struck by inspiration. "Of course!" He reached into his vest pocket. "It's missing brighter colors." And with that, he drew out a handful of golden feathers, letting them drift down to join the others.

 _You would make a lovely gardener._

Teles buried her face in the feathers. Her grief split the night again and again as Arthur emptied his vest, pants pockets, and prosthetic of the golden feathers he had gathered in the cave. As the last feather dropped, a deep weariness rolled through him, scooping out the anger and leaving him standing hollow, teetering on the edge of collapse.

 _There, now. You did well. You need hardly push harder. Smell the terror, hear the grief. She has steeped in despair for centuries, and you have cracked the defenses. Only nudge her now. Let me through._

 _"I plucked her," you gloat, eyeing the long sleeves Teles wears in all seasons. "I flightstripped her and thought of the day the goddess ordered the same for you." Teles' shock runs deep, it keeps her from fleeing as you lunge at her, tearing the sleeves to ribbons in simulation of the day her flesh hung just like that from her arms. The feathers, I was told, must not be allowed to grow again._

 _She lies on her side, making no move to escape now. You drop down to all fours, circling her like an animal. Her eyes are vacant and her lips move, soundless. No, she must not be allowed to retreat to her mind. Spikes rip through your bones as you clamp your teeth on her arm, dragging her back to the here and now with pain. The blood is sweet, not coppery. You remember how difficult it was to stop, how the goddess had to drag you off before you mauled her further. There is no goddess here now. She wouldn't mind-_

Arthur dragged himself off, shaking his head and spitting. His fingers had shortened to nubs and his legs were all wrong. He was some horrible halfway point of transformation, and his bones screamed protest.

"I plucked you," he rasped, drawing on the memories. "And watched her plant the curse on you. Only the eldest. All three failed, but only you were cursed. Why is that, Teles?"

Her mouth moved, and he lowered his head, cocking a lengthy ear to catch her voice.

"Where is my daughter? Where is her body?"

Arthur snarled. "Why? You wish to mourn her? Bury her? Like you buried your sisters on that gods-forsaken island? You survived the fall. I saw you. The three of you held hands and cast yourselves into the sea, but _my curse was too strong. You lived, even though you threw yourself in again and again for days. What did you do to earn such wrath?"_

 _She grips the wound with her other hand, closing off blood flow. "Where is her body?"_

"What does it matter?" Arthur wished she would stop asking. "Her feathers are here! She's dead, murdered!" He glanced at Aji. Her face was pale as death, but she held her chin up, bracing herself for the accusation. "I killed her myself." He turned back to Teles, stepping sideways to block out Aji. "I poured her blood out on the rocks after I stripped her wings."

"Where is her body?" Teles asked, nearly whispering.

"I don't know!" Arthur roared, raking the ground with his claws. "She stopped breathing, her heart wasn't beating, and her body was carried off by three raggedy robed people I've never seen before who picked her up and vanished into thin air!" His voice cracked on the last word and _you are too close to showing your hand. Don't think of Kay. Focus on the mother. What did she do? No. That is not as important to you, is it? Fine. We will ask what you want to know most. " 'The third to live inside my Cage.' What is the cage, little bird? What is this cage, that you would kill your child to keep her from it?"_

 _She is watching too closely now. Or was it your imagination? The eyes are vacant now, and she curls in on herself._

 _"How many times have you tried, little bird? If it was days before you gave up trying to end your own life, it must have been years before you gave up on ending hers. Or did you ever give up?" You turn to her youngest, eyeing her with a toothy grin. "How often have you been sick, child? Have you learned to pour out the drinks your mother gives? To watch the food she serves? Do you know the likelihood of poison entering your body day by day, depending on the set of your mother's face?"_

 _"No," the father moans, and you laugh. He tries to sit himself up. "Teles. Say no. Say this is the first and last time. Say you haven't been-"_

 _"How many lies will you swallow?" you taunt. "You, who are only the latest in her increasingly desperate attempts. If you could see your daughter's face now, you would know what I say to be true. But you don't have to see her face to hear her tears."_

 _The child weeps as though the world has come apart. Perhaps it has always been so, but this is the first time it has been brought to light. Even her elder sister sways on her feet. And Lewis has made no move to stop your assault._

 _"What is the cage, little bird?" you croon. "Make me understand."_

 _But it isn't you she looks to. Her eyes are on her child, and there is grief in the creases at the corners.  
_

 _"Demeter's labyrinth." Her voice is little more than breath through her lips and you drop your head again to catch every word. "She collects terrible things there. Harpies. Naga. Satyrs. Those who displease her are sent to The Cage to exist. There they are denied death for all eternity." She stretches out her bleeding arm, pleading. "Hades will keep you safe, Dulcie. Hades will keep you from her. You have to die!"  
_

 _You marvel at the beauty of the equation whose components are madness by themselves, but together make perfect sense. That a mother would murder her child to keep her from a fate of deathless torment. Admiration for Demeter glows in your chest, side by side with a sick revulsion._

 _Now you know what the Cage is, and the ghost knows what he has to face. Now, ask the other question. Ask her, "What did you do to earn her hatred?"_

 _The grass below your paws-they are paws now, as big as car tires-no longer crackles. It bends, soft and silent. Before, the air hung tired and empty over this field. Now there is honeysuckle and blue passionflower, scarlet beeblossom and night blooming jasmine mixed with a ripening dread from the woman at your feet._

 _"I will not ask again." You bring your teeth close to her face. "What did you do?"_

 _And then you feel it. The subtle tug of the vines on your body, the slight whisper of the question in your ear. The curse is alive and well, and you were chosen from the start to bring about this family's downfall. Human and nogitsune, both were chosen. And now the confession will bring it to fulfillment. There is no escaping this moment._

 _"I found her," Teles answers, as if in a dream. "I found Demeter's daughter, just as she asked. Alone of my sisters, I found her. But I did not tell Demeter. I allowed Hades to escape to his realm with Persephone."_

 _Night becomes day in the blink of an eye as a circle of light spreads itself wide between the mansion and yourself. Birdsong fills the night air and the scent of roasted grain wafts past your nose._

 _The goddess is here._

 ** _..._**

 **Note:** Chapter title excerpted from Any Other Way by We The Kings.


	12. They Will Come For You

_There is a rip hanging just a few feet from you, widening to reveal a lush garden view at midday. Memories slide into place as she steps through the gateway, impressions of the goddess called to the forefront by association. Her form is human, but the air hangs thick with power and her first step is accompanied by lengths of jasmine creepers running out and away from her toes. Her lip lifts in disgust, and the creepers collect themselves quite suddenly into orderly, upright pillars. The long grass, refreshed at her presence, curl tips in on themselves until they are uniform height._

 _She is not mortal flesh. Even you are still mortal flesh, though granted power beyond your wildest dreams. She smells of clay and decomposed leaves and rich, riverbank mud. A maelstrom of rich, nourishing earth churning and tossing within the invisible confines that give her form its human shape._

 _You deviate for a moment, scanning those present. The ghost is already gone. Good. She must not see him enter the locket._

 _You bring your eyes back to find her studying you. Her eyes are carved stone, the only unmoving pieces in her. The goddess Demeter weighs you. You must kneel._

 _You bend forward and nearly fall on your face. You are missing a limb and have forgotten to compensate. You struggle to adjust, keeping your muzzle on the ground as you bend._

 _"You seem different, my pet." Her gaze doesn't falter. She speaks to you before she even looks at the siren she has spent centuries punishing. Explain!_

 _Lie? No. We are already lying, too much and she will find us out. Give it a touch of truth and she may be fooled._

 _You grimace, offering an apologetic whine. "A miscalculation. I took myself a puppet, but now I cannot leave."_

 _"A puppet with a damaged body."_

 _Wag your tail in acknowledgment. As the original body is damaged, you will be unable to form a new limb. The memory of the injury is carved too deeply in the mind. "But it is mine now. The Puppet himself is no more." A deadbeat comes on command, disconnecting the metal prosthetic and carrying it off. It will only distract you._

 _"I see. And how does the herd fare under your watch?"_

 _You cringe, grovelling belly to ground. "They ended themselves in the confusion this Puppet caused. They are no more."_

" _I see." Her gaze finally turns, and you breathe easier. She seems to accept what you say and is unconcerned. Now she approaches Teles._

 _Teles lies facedown in the mound of feathers, her body trembling as the goddess' feet come to the edge of the pile. "Teles," the voice is soft as wind over grain. "Teles, where is my daughter?"_

 _Teles' fingers curl into her palms and you smell blood, but she is silent._

 _"Teles, have you seen my child?" Demeter asks, bending ever so slightly at the waist. It is a motion of dominance, not deference._

 _Teles gives a low moan, but does not speak._

 _"Teles, my only daughter is missing." Demeter crouches, laying a hand on the back of the siren's neck, running her hand over Teles' back in a soothing gesture. "Find her, bring her back to me."_

 _The pile of feathers shifts as Teles' shaking increases. Fear stabs the air with its scent._

 _And Demeter stands, dragging Teles up off the ground by her hair. Her voice does not raise as she asks, "And what did you tell me, Teles? 'I do not know. I searched everywhere, but she is nowhere to be found.' "_

 _Teles doesn't cry out, hanging there like a pup about to be beaten. Demeter drops her to the ground. "I gave you all wings to search for her, and this is how you repaid me."_

 _"She didn't tell me."_

No. No, not now. Not- _Do not falter. The goddess turns to Timothy, sprawled on the ground, Aji hovering near him. His mouth is moving, but he is speaking to no one in particular._

 _"She didn't tell me any of it. She just let it happen. Why. Why couldn't she trust me?"_

 _His mind is damaged. He cannot control what thoughts become words. And now he has the goddess' full attention._

 _"She never loved me." He is dismayed, as if considering this for the first time. "She only accepted because she was forced to. I was never her choice."_

 _For the first time, Teles moves of her own accord, lifting her head. Her eyes are wide and her mouth hangs loose, but still she does not speak._

 _"And she… she let our daughters walk into this… they never had a chance… Teles, how could you?"_

 _Demeter's eyes scrape back and forth in her head, between Teles and Timothy. "He is right, you know," she muses. "Someone had to survive your songs eventually. Someone had to come for you to have children yourself. But his purpose is long fulfilled."_

 _Teles grasps Demeter's ankle, burying her own face in the dirt in supplication._

 _Demeter pulls away, Teles' fingers furrowing through the ever-moving earth in passing. "My pet," she calls. "Take this man's burdens from him. He was a young, carefree cook on the seas once, I believe." She lifts her chin. "Let it be once again."_

I can't. I can't do this, please, we have to find another way.

 _You raise yourself up, ever the obedient servant that she knows and trusts so well. You come to stand over Timothy Pepper and your jaws spread wide. Teles will be stripped of everything, just as the goddess commands._

 _Pain flashes along the side of your face, and you snap your jaws on feathers without a thought. You have Aji's arm and wing in your teeth and you twist, cracking her against the ground. She is stunned, groaning for air, and you turn back to Timothy._

Oh gods. Oh gods. No. Is Aji alright? Mr. Pepper! Don't!

 _Your jaws open wide, welcoming his memories. You seek out every memory of his wife, the siren bride he took from the island. The birth of his youngest. The life of the second born. The image of his eldest daughter and adopted son-_

 _Your jaws snap shut against these last two. You cannot take these into yourself, they will only serve to distract you further. Their loss still sears your soul._

 _But you bear the name 'Mind Drinker', not Demeter. She does not know which you have taken and which you have not._

I could have pretended to take them! Or taken some that weren't important!

 _You do not understand the goddess. Stand back as she sweeps in, gripping Timothy's chin and untying the blindfold from his eyes. The pupils are dilated and he gasps like a fish on land. You see him take in the goddess and yourself in the space of a second and recoil, wrenching back with a horrified shout. This is a man who has never seen a creature of legend in his life, much less loved one and sired three._

 _Just like Lewis. Lewis, who would not break. Who would not do to the next child what was done to him, and whose memories we drained before turning him out. Do not look at the locket. It must be smoldering, but you did what had to be done._

 _Now Demeter turns her eye on the rest. She passes over Aji without a thought, drills Vivi with a brief stare, and fixes on Mystery. One earthen finger points toward him._

 _"We will need his soul," she says softly._

 _Of course she would be able to pick a shapeshifter from the crowd. Mystery tears out of his skin and is three four-legged bounds ahead before you leap after him. You may have only three legs, but he has been cowering in the care of a human while you have run the circumference of the earth when you could not sleep for the strife in your mind._

 _You snap at his tails, catching one and hauling him about. He twists back, raking your flank with his teeth and ramming into your side. Unbalanced, you fall your side as he scratches the soft underbelly, aiming for your throat with his teeth._

 _It seems you are not the only one who has trouble letting go of injury done to you. You twist aside and latch your jaws onto his snout as he misses. You use him to pull yourself up, carving down the muzzle and dragging him to the ground in the process. It should not be a contest, you have taken in far more power than he has over a longer span._

But you will not kill him.

 _He serves no further purpose. Your hesitance has us on the defensive. He is up, he has us by the ear. For the love of gods, he has a healer on this side and your energy is limited! You are still close enough that Demeter is watching, if we don't do as she asks your plan is already done for!_

You will not kill him!

 _Snarling, you tear yourself away, leaving part of your ear behind, and draw on your stores of hate and fear for speed and power. His movements seem to slow as you dodge his next lunge, and on his passing you shoulder-ram him to the ground, falling onto him. Twist before he can get his bearings, holding him in place._

 _"Give them to me," you growl. "Give me the souls I returned to you and lie still as death."_

 _He snarls, snapping at you, and you sink your teeth into his ear, growling through your teeth, "You know you cannot beat me. Do it now!"_

 _It galls him to give them up, you can see it all over his face. He wants to give them proper rites. It's foolish sentiment, they are long dead and do not care. He relinquishes them, unfurling the tail where he had hidden them. You snap the tip of the tail off and he gives a pitched yelp before laying still on the ground._

 _Take the two soul gems under your own tails, the hides and faces of packmates flashing through your mind. It does not matter. Return slowly. Use that clever mind to find a reason for why we return with two incubating gems and not a fresh golden soul._

 _Ah. You are a clever little Puppet._

 _"The last two curses," you announce, dropping them at her feet with no small amount of pride. "One I have held for you, one I planted in his living soul to see the effects."_

 _"I have no interest in your experiments." She bends to scoop the curses from the dirt, cradling them tenderly. "Only the end result."_

 _You swallow a snarl. You are curious at the resentment, Puppet. Always curious. But for now we are her servant. Her plaything. Her petslave. Do not ask._

 _Vivi has not moved once._

Forgive me. Please. Believe in me.

 _Mr. Pepper is nowhere to be seen. Aji, bloody and broken, is cradling a wing. Dulcie has also vanished._

 _"It is time to leave, my pet." Demeter rolls the curses in her hand. "Find the youngest. It is time to visit the Cage."_

 _You lift your nose to the air for her scent. More than hers, though, the scent of fiery peppers lingers in the air. Lewis is angry, and it is a heady fragrance, an easy trail to follow. You find her running for the road, hands clutched to the locket on her chest, legs pumping short, furious steps._

 _It is nothing to knock her down with your snout. You don't allow her to stand, to stare at you with those wide blue eyes. You cannot falter in this act either. You clamp onto the back of her shirt, lifting her. Move too fast and you will break her little body and Demeter will be unhappy. So you drag her back, holding her high enough that she has to stumble tiptoe to keep from falling and cannot fight you. Not that it would do any good._

But if she can't try, we won't end up hurting her.

 _The gateway is open. This is what you wanted. This is what you needed. It will shut behind you, but its location is known by the kitsune. It is only a matter of time before the unicorn opens it for them all._

 _Demeter crouches before Teles once again, touching her head tenderly, and whispering. You strain your ears to catch the words, curious to the last._

 _"Now your daughter will know a taste of the hell mine lives in. Live with this, Teles. Until the end of time, live with this. Like me."_

 _She rises, gesturing that I follow, as she steps through the gate. I lift my paws as I cross from night to day, from abandoned field to verdant garden. The scent of fear diminishes to only the child I am dragging._

 _We are sealed in the other world._

 _..._

 **Note:** Thank you all for your patience as I got my act together IRL last month! This chapter title is excerpted from Daniel in the Den by Bastille.


	13. I Know I Let You Down

Vivi dug her fingernails into her cheeks as the hole closed. As the light faded so did Lewis' mansion, leaving nothing but an imprint to show where it had been. Her eyes darted from Aji rocking on the ground to Mrs. Pepper disappearing into the dark after her husband to the all-too-still white lump of fur at the edge of the field.

Lewis was gone. She's known he had to go. They'd talked about it. But then, he'd promised to never leave her again. And Arthur was gone too. And she was alone with a dog, a horse, two birds and a loon.

Maybe two loons, counting herself.

Arthur had left. Arthur had been piecing things together the whole time while she bumbled around chasing the edge pieces. The Pepper family was the real crux of the case while Chloe and Duet's parts had fallen into place as events unfolded.

Mystery and Aji were hurt. Chloe and Mr. Pepper were scrambled. Mrs. Pepper had just been cracked wide open between Demeter and Arthur. That only left Vivi.

 _I've been making all the mistakes. I can't do this._

Her spine sagged under the weight of her disastrous headlong charge into danger, her wild accusations at Lewis, and the terrible question that had almost cost him everything. Even now, she stood perfectly still while the world came down around their ears instead of doing something useful.

And then her spine snapped straight.

 _She_ was the one that had put ink on the contract for the van and it had turned out perfectly. _She_ was the one who had dragged them together to become an investigative group. _She_ was the face of the team to the public and the one that picked the cases. She'd made plenty of decisions before this mess and plenty of them had turned out great.

"Besides," she muttered to herself, plucking up courage, "Squire and Lew have made plenty of mistakes too and they're still doing what they have to do. Aji!" She hurried over, pulling her scarf off. "Hey, lemme see that."

Aji's face screwed up as she breathed through her nose, her face white. Her wing-was that her arm under it?-hung too far out and was twisted at a weird angle. Feathers were damp, but the scarlet coloring made it hard to tell where the blood came from.

"Here, take this." Vivi handed her the scarf. "Bind it up. I'll get our healer over here in a minute."

"Don't bother," Aji managed through her teeth. "Find Dad!"

"I'm pretty sure your Mom has that under control." Vivi made to stand, but Aji swung her good arm around to grab at Vivi.

"That's what I'm worried about! She tried to kill Dulcie! This whole time, and I never knew… You have to keep her away from Dad!"

Vivi hesitated, weighing Aji's words. Then she shook her head. "I'll be back with Chloe."

"Vivi!"

"He wouldn't want you to bleed out, Aji, and that's where you're headed." She turned on her heel, making for the edge of the field as fast as she could.

As she approached, she could see Mystery struggling to regain footing against the unicorn that kept butting him to the ground. Their argument became clear as she drew closer.

"Yatsume! Stop moving, you'll make it worse."

"There's nothing to make worse, it's just some scratches. I can heal myself. Stop this foolishness!"

"I saw the whole fight and the only foolishness is you, the baka-desu dog that won't lie still and let me do my job!"

"I don't need you to heal me, I can heal myself!"

Chloe stamped a hoof deep in the ground, neighing angrily, "Urusai! This is the one thing I am even close to being able to competently do, don't you dare take it away from me kono yarou!"

"Hey, Chloe!" Vivi waved, slowing. "Listen, Aji's really hurt back there. Arthur did a number on her wing, she needs your help."

Faltering, Chloe swung her head toward Vivi. "More than the manuke dog?"

"Just because I don't know what you're saying doesn't make it less offensive!" Mystery growled.

"Aji could bleed out." Vivi put a hand on Chloe's muzzle, as much to steady her friend as herself. "She needs it more."

Chloe butted Vivi's hand gently, then turned and bolted back the way Vivi had come, showering Vivi in uprooted grass and dirt clods.

Turning, Vivi circled around to Mystery's head. "Squire's had you in a tight spot at least twice now. What's the deal, mister great-and-powerful Kitsune?"

Mystery growled. "Neither time was that Arthur Kingsmen holding me down, I can tell you that. The Shiker's been feeding off stolen emotions and residual soul energy for centuries, of course he's going to be stronger." He winced, pushing up onto his forepaws. "Again."

Vivi swatted his leg. "Go shrinky dinks. Now."

Mystery just looked at her. "Pardon?"

"Unless your great-and-powerful size has some bearing on what we gotta do now, get small. We're headed back, and you're in no shape to walk right now."

Still staring at her, Mystery complied, shrinking down until he was the stubby tailed dog she was so familiar with. Of course there was more blood on his coat tonight. Wedging her arms under him, she hefted him off the ground, walking back toward the center of the field.

He whuffed a sigh and settled his head against her shoulder. "This is familiar."

"Yeah, I know. My head isn't _that_ full of holes. Now shut up and stop wiggling. You'll need your energy to help us get across."

"Vivi, I can't do that, only Chloe can."

"Yeah, but you can point her in the right direction. Right where Arthur's trail leaves off."

"I can't make her somehow _know_ how to open a gateway, you know."

"No, but you have a better shot than any of the rest of us. Besides." She scratched under his collar. "I have faith in you." His stubby tail flapped against her arm and she squeezed him.

"Mate Mate, Aji-san!" Ahead, darkness peeled back in a large circle around Chloe. Aji clawed at the edge of that circle, struggling to get to her feet. "Aji-san! Mou! I… it doesn't feel finished! The healing… things aren't… I don't know how it all works but something's not done. Ah, onegai! Stop moving!"

"She could be slitting his throat for all I know!" Aji shouted. "I'm healed enough, I'm not losing him!" She forced herself to stand and staggered away from Chloe, who followed anxiously. "If you're just following me why don't you carry me?" she growled.

Chloe snorted, nostrils flaring, and Vivi picked up the pace. "Hey, Chloe."

Chloe's ears lifted. "Vivi-chan, talk to her! I can't make her sit still."

"I know, she's stubborn. But I can't hold a siren back and I don't think you want to. Here." She set Mystery at Chloe's hooves. "Next patient."

"Vivi!" Mystery whined.

"Mystery, sit. Stay." She managed a smile. "Get to know each other, we have a road trip to plan, but I gotta round up the others."

"Can you?" Mystery placed a paw on her arm, laying his ears back.

She scratched behind one ear. "Hey. Believe in me too, okay? I got this." Turning, she caught up to Aji in a few steps. "Good luck catching them in this state."

"What's that supposed to be?" Aji huffed. "Encouragement?"

"Nope. More like a lead-in to offering someone to lean on, instead of trying to do it straight-up and getting claws to the face," Vivi replied.

Startled, Aji snorted. "Well. Yeah. Makes sense." Wincing, she lifted one arm and Vivi slipped under, wrapping an arm around Aji's waist and taking her weight. "Watch it. I think it's the ribs. Didn't know Kingsmen had it in him."

"Yeah, well, he's got _something_ in him. He said not to do anything, you know."

"Right, a monster stands over my Dad and I'm supposed to do nothing. Can't you go faster?"

"Don't push it." It was surprising, actually, how light Aji was, but Vivi wasn't about to take responsibility for a punctured lung or something just because Aji was impatient. "I don't think your Mom is going to hurt your Dad."

"What makes you so sure?" Aji demanded. "She was trying to murder Dulcie!"

"Yeah, and she said why. Very specifically. She didn't try that on you, did she?"

Aji hesitated before answering, "Well, no."

"And Kay?"

"I guess not."

"Right. Only Dulcie, and there was a reason. There's nothing hanging over Mr. Pepper's head, so I don't think he's in any danger."

Aji fell silent, but no longer pulled like a roped up racehorse.

Voices rose and fell ahead, and Vivi turned them toward the voices. They had left the area lit by Chloe, so she fished in her pocket for her cell phone, flipping on the flashlight. She shone it around, sweeping her arm back and forth until the light bounced off two figures. Mr. Pepper, dressed head to toe in black, cowering at the edge of the road. Mrs. Pepper only a few feet away, on her hands and knees, reaching one hand out to him.

Aji strained forward, but Vivi flipped her flashlight off and tightened her grip on Aji's middle, drawing a gasp from her. "Stop. Just listen a minute."

Neither of them acknowledged the light that had come and gone. Mr. Pepper cradled his head as Mrs. Pepper inched closer.

"Timothy," she breathed, so softly Vivi barely caught it. "Please. Please know me."

"I don't know you!" He ground out the words from between his teeth. "Who are you, and what am I doing here? What was that thing?"

"Please, Timothy." Her arm remained outstretched. Vivi couldn't see her face, but her voice creaked like a shack on the verge of collapse.

"I don't know you!" He panted, fingers scrabbling at the blacktop as he pulled away. "I have to get back to my daughter-my son-they need me. Something's…" He wrapped his arms around his head. "Something's wrong."

Vivi sucked in a breath as Aji jerked free, stumbling toward them. "Dad," she called. "Dad, I'm here."

He lifted his head for a moment, then recoiled with a cry. "What _are_ you?"

Faltering, Aji stopped, right where her mother had. "Dad… you don't…"

"You're not Kay!" He moaned, screwing his eyes shut. "And you're not human. You were with that thing. I don't know what's going on, but I need-"

"Hello, Mr. Pepper." Vivi walked right up to him, squatting at his side.

He grabbed her arm, frantic relief coloring his voice. "Vivi. Good to see a familiar face. Where am I? I thought…" He paused, his eyebrows furrowing. "I was at sea. But that doesn't make sense… I met you later, when you started dating Lewis."

"The bastard picked and chose who got remembered," Aji hissed.

Vivi's head swiveled toward Aji. "Or maybe he's only got a few days' grip on what he can do and you should be grateful there's any memory left."

"He didn't have to do it at all!"

"We knew the risks going in. Squire was going to have to do anything Demeter said. At least she left your Dad alive." Vivi turned back to Mr. Pepper. "Hey, Mr. Pepper, listen. I know you've seen a lot of crazy things tonight, but you've got to understand it's all part of a big Mystery Skulls case you got caught up in. Okay?"

Mr. Pepper's head wobbled back and forth.

"Now, listen. You're missing really big chunks of memory right now."

His eyes widened. "How… how big?"

"Like… who's in your immediate family?"

"Lewis… but he's…" He frowned, massaging his temples. "He's… dead… ghost. Ghost, I just found him!" He sprang to his feet. "And Kay is out there somewhere! I have to find them."

"Who's their mother, Mr. Pepper?" Vivi rose slowly, keeping her tone even and calm.

"Their mother is…" He blinked. "I…" He rounded on her. "Is that a chunk?"

She nodded. "And two more daughters."

Mr. Pepper sagged. Vivi staggered under his weight. He was a small man, but heavier than Aji. Were their bones hollow to accommodate flight?

She shook her head. _Stay on task, Vivi._ "Listen. I get it. I'm just figuring out who Lewis is, remember? I lost everything about him for months right after he died. I promise I'll personally help you sort things out, but right now we have to deal with this whole thing." She slipped her phone into his hand. "Call Lance Kingsmen. Tell him Vivi sent you, and you need a safe place to crash for a while."

"S-safe? I can't go home?"

"It's a long story, but people are looking for you right now."

"We can't just leave him here!" Aji burst out.

Mr. Pepper tilted his head to glance at Aji, then averted his eyes, moaning.

"Nausea?" Vivi guessed. "Splitting headache?"

He pressed a hand to his stomach, nodding.

"Yeah. Violent memory wipe symptoms. It will fade, but it takes practice. Like I said, I'll help you later. But for now, you need to go."

"Kay," he rasped. "What about Kay? And Lewis?"

Vivi paused, trying to weigh her words. "They're involved, Mr. Pepper. Please believe me, it's best for you to go be with Lance for now. I'll explain when we get back."

Mr. Pepper stared down at the phone for a long time. "Kay… Kay wasn't human either."

Vivi bit her lip.

"I'm sorry." He turned, trudging stoop-shouldered down the road, cradling the phone. "I'm sorry I don't know you."

Mrs. Pepper doubled over, clutching her stomach and burying her face in her knees, air hissing out of her.

Now Vivi crouched by Mrs. Pepper, laying hands on her shoulders. "Hey. Listen. There's a lot we couldn't tell you back there, but it's time for a group huddle. Squire's still Squire, and Dulcie has a shot of getting out of the Cage if we all keep our heads."

Mrs. Pepper lifted her head, staring at Vivi. "What are you talking about?"

"Dulcie's curse. Everybody's got it through their heads she has to go there. But the curse doesn't say anything about her staying for good. Squire's delivering her there personally." She squeezed Mrs. Pepper's shoulders. "And he's smuggled Lewis in to protect her."

….

 **Note:** Chapter title excerpted from I Bet My Life by Imagine Dragons. Thanks for your patience, guys, still getting back in the swing of regular writing, which involves finding a cross section time and energy.


	14. Just To Watch You Go

_It is more difficult than you anticipated. You are unused to absorbing memories and distinguishing who you are from who the memories belonged to. It is already difficult with the pain in our bones. Give the memories to me. We need you to think clearly, Puppet, without distraction._

I hold her little body for the first time, and she is perfect. Ten fingers, ten toes, pink fuzz on her head, a wrinkled face. She kicks and cries, but Teles will not hold her. She is weeping.

 _You refuse me at our peril. If you will not give them, then bury yourself and I will lead. No, I will not harm the child. The goddess would not allow it in any case. She is safe for now. Take the memories and bury yourself deeper, but be ready. We may need your quick thinking yet._

 _You have rarely seen the gardens, but they are the same as those few days you were welcomed here. A vast array of wildflower and consumables, each separated into its own plot. Each stalk and stem pointed skyward. Stems weighted with fruit curl down at the slightest angle. Demeter plucks a red globe of a tomato from its stem, which instantly springs upright, relieved of its burden._

 _You could swear the leaves tremble at her passing._

 _Turning, Demeter approaches and you hold your ground. Her eyes are fixed on your captive. Crouching before the child, she assesses her with those stone eyes. She extends the tomato, holding it in easy reach._

 _"Take this. The Cage is not often fed, perhaps you can trade it for a brief alliance. Or keep it for yourself."_

 _Dulcie takes the tomato. You cannot see her face. If you see her face you will falter, Puppet, we will not be looking at her face. The blooms on the shackle-vines are swelling. Not long now. And yet the noose about her neck has thinned. Is it shriveling?_

 _By the gods, Puppet. It is thinner, even looser, and not a single ingredient added or removed. It is possible to do what you strive for. You question my shock, but know, Puppet, I crafted every curse the goddess holds, and this one is the first that grew in my own soul. No force on earth should be able to shift its growth, but circumstances have never been tested like this._

Teles will not hold her, will not even touch her for a month. She would not name our daughter, so I did. I wake for her at night. Aji and Kay take her in the mornings. Lewis tends her in the afternoon when his shift is finished. Lewis showers her with attention, but I see Kay and Aji only move to help when she cries.

 _Focus! The goddess bids you follow. You trail behind, still dragging the child on the tips of her toes past straight-edged rows of marigold and petunia evenly spaced between complementary foxglove spears._

I'm the one that teaches her how to tie her shoes, how to make her first tray of cookies. They're too hard, but a little milk softens them right up and we laugh. Only small things are fixed so easily. Her mother speaks to her but never plays. Training Aji, she says, but Aji was never neglected in Kay's training.

 _Lose who you are later, Puppet! You are not her father. You stole her father's memories. Are you Aji's father too? Teles' lover? No. Who are you? What name did the child scribble all over you?_

Arthur.

 _Keep it that way. If you must hold them, do not absorb them. Keep them separate, like a ball in your hands, so that they do not become a part of you._

 _You have paused too long and the goddess is looking at you. Damn your stubbornness. Cringe and wag your tails. "Such a garden," you murmur. "It has been long since I have seen such marvelous blooms."_

 _She lifts her chin, pleased. You follow again, always at her heels._

 _The scent of cherry blossoms flood your nostrils. You tread pink petals under paw. Your blood runs cold. Of course you would not know why, Puppet. Do not ask. Did Demeter do this on purpose? Is she testing us? Do not falter. The trees are on either side of us, but they are only trees and nothing more._

 _You follow along this path far too long for comfort, but then you are free of the scent and you have come to a great dome of green that stretches skyward hundreds of feet with a span so wide you cannot see where it ends looking to the right or the left. It is loosely grown and you can see through the gaps inside, there is even more growth. Whole walls and corridors of greenery._

 _The goddess crouches to touch the ground and underfoot a tangle of branches weave themselves into a platform. It raises us from the ground and you sit, startled, unwilling to lose balance with your missing limb. Still, you peer over the edge, catching sight of a vine, redwood thick, lifting the platform skyward._

 _Hold onto that curiosity, Puppet. That is Arthur._

 _The ache spreads from the bones to the muscles. You have held this form a long time. How long can we be this? What are the limitations of mortal flesh under these circumstances? Curse you, Arthur Kingsmen._

 _That was not a pun, and it was not funny. The goddess is looking at you again, irked by your laugh. What say you now? "I can hardly wait to see the look on her face when she lands," you explain your lapse. Barely passable. Your distractions are becoming dangerous. Our bones creak._

 _Finally the platform stops, and the goddess steps off onto the sloped dome. You are past the sharp incline and at the point where it curves gently up. It must go on for miles, you cannot see the other side, it is all a sea of green. Through the smell of crisp greens a copper scent leaks through, mixed with sickness. Someone is gasping._

I know Teles loves each of them. It is in her tone, in her face and the long hours of teaching, training, coaching them against the particular hazards of the world for them. But there is a false note. A fly in the soup. What is it?

 _Gods above am I truly reduced to reminding you now?_

The sisters learn together under their mother, but when else are they together? Only when Lewis instigates it. Kay is grown before she is grown, and Aji is somber as well. Dulcie laughs, but it is rare, and I have to catch her off guard. Each is her own island, and Teles finds no concern in this when I talk to her.

 _That is not your memory of Kay. The first time you asked the oldest to-_

Come hang out at my place, I said. You look like someone who's never played Mario Kart but would kill at it with some practice. Is there music? Well yeah, but if that bothers you we can just disable that.

 _We have been following by rote, but now the goddess calls us to stop. She kneels to part the greenery, opening a hole in the dome. The sick-and-dying stench crowds through._

 _Not a word, Puppet. You have already said your goodbyes to the child. A branch coils itself into a circle and you drop the child onto the makeshift seat. She clutches the edges with her free hand, the other still holding the tomato as the branch lowers her through the hole._

 _She turns, but you fix your eyes on the goddess. Your cells are shrieking agony and you cannot afford one more distraction. You already smell the child is terrified, you do not need to see her face._

But you want to see the flowers bloom. You worked so hard.

 _Damn you, Puppet. Have it, then. Turn to watch her descent. As her head vanishes through the hole, you crane your neck to keep her in sight. The shacklevine buds burst open as she enters, the narrow, rounded petals a light pink stained to near maroon toward the centers. The fragrance lifts you to the tips of your paws. Such a beautiful curse, so expertly crafted and executed-_

 _Every petal has a twin growing beneath it, and the second layer of petals is snowdrop white. The noose is withered and black around her neck, and the vibrant green of the shacklevines has faded a shade._

 _What is this bloom, Puppet? What have you done to my curse? The scent has changed and it is nothing our centuries can account for. The hole seals above her, but the scent lingers._

Pain.

 _Pain._

 _You are on your_ side, clawing the _air and the branches but no strength_ to stand with and _she is looking_ but there is nothing I can do _and you question why mortals are mocked_ because I am limited, so many limitations _the body collapses on itself, cellular bonds reestablished_ whipcrack fast, too fast, blackness, are my eyes gone?

 _No. But we are no longer standing by her as her pet. We lie at her feet as a mortal man._

 _Puppet, we need a very, very good explanation for this transformation. And quickly._

… _..._

Dulcie's feet touched grass and the branch shriveled out from under her. Shrubbery walls rose high on either side of her and stretched out in either direction, forming a corridor. Light streamed through the dome in patches, creating a murky green effect in the air.

The grass didn't stir. No insects buzzed. Not a single bird called.

Something tugged at her hair, and she started. One of Lewis' pink ghosts had a grip on her pigtail and was pulling.

She followed. She wanted to ask why Lewis hadn't come out yet but couldn't move her jaw. Everything had gone cold since Daddy tried to… she hadn't even gotten to say goodbye to him. And Mom had said the terrible things out loud. She'd never said them out loud before.

She brushed the rainbow clip with her fingers. She would not cry again. Probably had used up all the tears anyway. She could be a little stone. Could, and would.

The hedge opened up in a small gap, and the ghost tugged her through it. It was another corridor, much like the first, but this one had several more gaps visible and it curved away. Her fingers gripped the locket. "Lewis, how are they ever going to find me?" she whispered. "It's a big maze, shouldn't I just stay put?"

The pink ghost's eyes flickered and it tilted its head, as if listening. Then it chirped softly and continued tugging. Two more exited the locket, drifting ahead of Dulcie and disappearing into various openings in the hedge before returning and checking even further ahead.

One peeled back toward her like a bullet, windmilling nubby arms and squawking. Immediately the ghost leading Dulcie changed direction, nearly yanking her off her feet. She stumbled after it as a screech sounded behind.

A few feet ahead, two curved pieces of bone stuck out of the ground. Dulcie tried not to think about what the bone came from as she pelted on. As she passed over, pain ripped up the back of her leg and stabbed the small of her back. She tumbled to the ground with a scream as something slithered up her back.

It was jerked away, and three little ghosts dragged a snake into view. Even three of them had a hard time keeping it still as it bucked and writhed and doubled back on itself, swinging the curved, bloodstained horns on its head toward Dulcie.

It didn't hurt anymore but she couldn't move her legs. She couldn't even feel them. Had the snake cut her legs off? She turned her head to see, and instead saw what she had first run from.

A vulturine creature filled the corridor with its wobbly bulk. Bumbling toward her on knobby, taloned feet, it dragged a limp wing on one side and used the other to press against the ground for balance, its bloated, feathered belly brushing the grass. A wrinkly hag's face leered at her from under a few locks of greasy gray hair, lips snapping together with the sound of a beak clicking.

"Don't move, dearie," it rasped, dragging itself closer. "It will hurt worse, Cerastes are nasty things, yes, but I only want a few bites and I will leave you be. Don't move. What have you got there?"

Dulcie shoved the tomato in her pocket and clawed at the ground, dragging herself hand over hand past the snake-knot that the ghosts rolled past her toward the harpy.

"Is that a Gift?" the harpy shrieked. "Give it to me! My wing whole-I will fly again!"

There was an angry hiss, and then a terrible cry. The ghosts returned, two pulling on her arms to lift her off the ground as one darted ahead, scanning vigilantly.

The scout gestured at the other two, leading them down two more corridors to a dead-ended offshoot that ended in an alcove. There they released Dulcie, circling over her with soft chittering.

She pulled the locket out, running her thumb over the lines in the surface. "Lewis, I can't feel my legs. Where are you?" She shivered.

One of the ghosts clapped to draw Dulcie's attention, then pointed up at the ceiling. It put a nub in front of its mouth, deliberately shushing.

"I don't understand you! I want my brother!" Pretending to be a stone wasn't working very well at all.

One of them dove out of sight and returned a moment later with the tomato from her pocket. It mimed taking a bite, then held it in front of her face.

"No, I should be saving it! It's all the food I've got!" She wiped her nose on her sleeve.

The little ghost repeated the mime, insistent.

She swatted it away, burying her face in the grass. Nothing mattered anymore. She was going to be found by something sooner or later and torn to pieces. Having the locket didn't make any difference after all. Everything everyone had done was for nothing.

…...

 **Note:** Something I forgot to mention. Ya'll can thank Backuppixiedust for Timothy still being alive. I was thinking of killing him off, but she had an idea I thought was definitely better, so I went with that. Thanks for letting me bounce that off you! Timothy also heartily thanks you. Also, you have been asking a very interesting question about Lewis that really got me thinking. However, I think I'm looking at the answer from a different angle… but thank you for posing the question. It actually changes the direction of the story a bit… Chapter title excerpted from In The End by Linkin Park.


	15. Feel Like I'm Someone Else

The sheets were cool and crisp and the mattress gave easily as he shifted. He pushed his head deeper in what must have been a cloud and hoped with every breath he would never have to move again.

"Our visitor is awake."

There was a woman in his room. Why was there a woman in his room? He cracked an eyelid open, squinting at the light.

Sideways, he saw a column of a girl standing over him, wide-shouldered and straight as a pillar. A brilliant smile plastered across her face and she dipped her golden head, green eyes sparkling. "Yes, Mother."

The smell of roasting grain crowded him and he pulled the sheets closer. His skin prickled and his gut fluttered. He wasn't in his room. What was going on?

"Leave us. I will come for you soon and we will walk to the border."

The girl spun away, gliding through a granite arch. Definitely not his room.

"She is beautiful, is she not, my pet?" A different face interposed itself and he jerked back with a shout. It was like a tornado of earth in human form sat there, fixing him with stone eyes.

"You have never seen my like before, have you?" her voice was soft, tender even. Why was he not comforted? "Fascinating. And here I thought my pet could not be bested. He even boasted it, and yet here you are. Not quite the background fragment he claimed."

He swallowed, raising himself on his right arm. The sheets slid and he grabbed at them, mortified. "Wh-where are my clothes?"

Something of a smirk crossed that face and he ducked his eyes. It unsettled him. "You appeared without them, or don't you remember? I carried you here."

He clutched the sheet, wishing it was more than just a sheet. "No. I don't-who are you?"

She tilted her head, her eyes staying fixed in space as her face rotated around them. His stomach flipped. "It's rude to interrogate a host before giving your own name," she admonished. "First, what is _your_ name?"

"I'm…" He blinked. "I'm…" Coldness spiked his chest. There was a blank. A huge, gaping blank space spreading out where his name should be. He reached farther. An age? Family? Friends?

Blank.

How did he get here?

Still blank. There was nothing, only the faintest tinge of-

"Orange!" he blurted, immediately feeling stupid. But there was nothing else there, nothing he could find to tell her at any rate.

A lilting laugh drew his eyes back to the strange being. "Well, then, Orange. I am the goddess Demeter."

His mouth dropped open to deny the existence of such things as gods and goddesses. No words came. There certainly was nothing in his experience that compared to what he was looking at-

What experiences? He had nothing to compare to. There had to have been something, how else could there be such a sudden sense of loss? Despair seized him and he choked on it. What was happening to him?

"Not only mortal, but apparently weak among men." Demeter sighed, turning from him and rising. "Still, come with me. Orange is no more your name than Green or Blue, but if that is all you can give me while my Pet rests, we will fill your head with useful information for his return."

He was struck by the odd desire to follow her, but that was absurd. She scared the living daylights out of him. Why would he want to go with her? He didn't move.

The head swiveled about to stare at him. "I _thought_ there was something odd about your voice. Have we swallowed some birdsong, Orange? Is it so difficult to follow a divine command now?"

He slid off the other side of the bed to put some distance between them, standing unsteadily with the sheet in front of him. His knees gave, sending him sprawling.

Starving. Not just hungry, starving. How long since he had eaten? His body shook with the effort it had taken just to stand and his bones groaned. Something was horribly wrong.

A cluster of grapes pressed to his lips. He brought his hand around to jam the lot into his mouth, sweet juice bursting over his tongue. Strength flowed back into his body and he found himself able to stand again, though now face to face with her.

He felt silly holding the sheet to his chest. He couldn't wind it properly with just one arm. Oddly the loss of the other arm did not faze him, but he couldn't recall how it had happened. "Listen. Thank you, I feel much better, but I don't understand you. I don't know where I am. I really, really don't know where my clothes went and I kind of want them back. And I don't think any of the answers I want are in the direction you're going."

The stone eyes rolled back for a moment. "Must I do all?" She seized the sheet from his hand. With short, swift moves she wrapped it around him. The hair on his arms rose and the air he breathed was saturated with power.

He could possibly begin to believe she was a goddess.

"There." She tied it off with a jerk and turned on her heel. "You are clothed. You can come with me or wait, chained in the courtyard, until my Pet returns. It is your choice."

He didn't know what her Pet was, but it didn't sound pleasant. He glanced down at his… fancy toga?... and followed after her.

Demeter. That was what she called herself.

Now that he was upright, he saw the granite arches were decorated. Ivy lined the curves in even rows of four, clinging without winding. Each arch held two triangular clusters of grapes dangling from the peak, each grape a sphere straining to burst.

Demeter came to a stop in front of a patch of wildflowers poking up through cracks in the marble tile. She clicked her tongue in irritation. "Not a care, that child. Not a care for the grief she causes. It is always about her." She bent down, grasping the flowers and rending them from the tile. They withered in her hand, shriveling to dust. "Do you see this, Orange? It doesn't matter how much I teach her. Hades undoes all my work and she is to go back to him now. But no matter. His time will come, thanks to my Pet."

His shoulders straightened, and his chest filled out. Why did this madwoman's rambling inspire a spark of pride in him?

She pulled out two red embers, little jewels, and approached a black door. "You won't understand, Orange. It is well that you don't. Just listen. The time is approaching. We have enough now." She placed a hand on the door and it swung open, soundless. That door, he sensed, would never open for him, or anyone she did not want it to open for. He craned his neck to peer around her.

Dozens of them. Little red gems lined up on the shelves in a row, each burning fiercely. She reached hands in, caressing the air around them, a rapturous expression on her face. "Look at them, Orange. Look well, my Pet will want to remember this. Centuries of work and we are nearly there. We only need to set events in motion." She placed the two gems she carried on a shelf and shut the door. "You have seen my daughter."

"That's your daughter?" He scratched the back of his neck. "She doesn't look anything like you."

Demeter's upper lip curled. "Mortals." She shook her head. "Listen. This afternoon you will join us. Persephone must return to Hades, as agreed, for the next six months. We will take her the border of my lands and then you will accompany her the rest of the way. I am forbidden in Hades' lands but I will not have her walk there alone. She knows the way, only go with her. And," here she smiled as his skin crawled, "I would be quite pleased if my Pet took it upon himself to attack Hades' Pet when you arrive. Do see that he gets the message?" She put a hand to his face. The touch was soft and her smile warm, but coldness knotted in his gut. "It would help me remember how loyal he is, after keeping secrets like this from me."

Swallowing, he stammered, "I-I don't kn-know-"

"Know what I'm talking about. I know. But he will. And he will know the perils of failing me." Her smile sent ice through him. "If he's unsure of my meaning, he can ask Teles."

….

Lewis held himself to the boundaries of the locket, but barely. It had been two hours since Dulcie was attacked and now the Deadbeats couldn't rouse her at all. She continued to refuse any and all pantomimes to eat the tomato, to his exasperation.

He'd felt it the moment she was lowered in; this place was the domain of _life_. It hummed in the air, crept along the ground, and encircled them in an uncomfortably cramped grip. Oh no, nothing could die here. The unspoken law constricted him. He could tell that even in the most horrific of physical conditions, one would survive in this place. So if he manifested from the locket, might he not draw the attention of the goddess? He had already died and it was impossible for him to live, despite the unnatural insistence of life around him. There would be a ripple, like a rock in a stream that diverted its course. This was _her_ domain, surely she would feel it. The deadbeats were shells, but even they were pushing it with their presence. A fully manifest specter...

Of course Arthur couldn't anticipate every detail, not on the fly, and even so he might not know the answer. It was up to Lewis now.

But even if Lewis didn't have all the pieces Dulcie needed him. The goddess had left the Cage some time ago. If there was a time to try it was now.

He slipped the confines of the locket, calling to mind the images of himself from Vivi's point of view. His face, his smile, his poofy hair. Her memories gave him shape and within moments he found himself kneeling over Dulcie. The forcefulness of life recoiled around him, the pressure in the air lessening as he bent to inspect his sister's injuries. There was a dark red stain on her clothes near the entry wounds from the snake's horns at the small of her back, and the backs of her calves had been torn up by its first attack. He hoped the harpy and the cerastes wrecked each other, though it was more likely the cerastes got ripped to shreds after inflicting minor damage. At least they'd thrown the harpy off.

A Deadbeat darted over, dropping the tomato into his outstretched hand. Carefully he turned Dulcie onto her back. Her eyes were shut tight and she whimpered. Wedging one arm under her shoulders, he raised her to a sitting position and pressed the tomato against her mouth. The skin had split and juice dripped down her face, but it looked like some of it had gotten past her lips.

Her eyes shot open, her body twitching in his arms. He squeezed carefully as her mouth opened, releasing more juice for her. Her fingers curled, which he took as a good sign. The harpy had been good for knowledge, at least. Now they knew what a gift from Demeter could do.

She put her hand on his, pushing the tomato away. Her eyes drilled him accusingly, her lip quivering.

He averted his eyes. "She was still here, Dulcie. I could see her overhead. I was just waiting for her to clear the Cage. I had to make sure she was long gone." He pulled her close. "I'm sorry, but I don't know what happens if I get caught here. Arthur was right, you can't be here alone." How could he explain to her the weird sense that the very foundation of this place regarded him with disapproval? "We gotta make it so that I can stay with you as long as possible. And I get the feeling that means staying in the locket unless you really, really need me."

Dulcie pulled herself up and Lewis was relieved to see her calves whole and healed. She clung to him, hiding her face. "I'm scared, Lewis. I don't wanna be alone."

The locket throbbed painfully. He wrapped his arms around her. "Hey, you're not alone. I hear everything and see everything, and the Deadbeats don't attract as much attention as me. I think. They do everything I tell them, so it's almost like I'm out with you. But please, for the love of all gods, if they tell you to do something like eat a tomato, _do it._ "

She hiccuped a small laugh. "M'sorry. I was scared and mad. Still scared."

"But not mad at me anymore?" He wiped her eyes gently. She shook her head. "Okay. Now, I have to go back into the locket, I don't want to raise suspicion."

"But how? Nobody's watching."

"Yeah, I think someone is watching, just in a different way." He shivered, his outline flickering. "Call it a hunch. Think you can keep yourself hidden for a while until the others come find you?"

She nodded, clutching his hand. "I'll be okay. I won't fall apart again," she promised.

He tugged a pigtail wistfully. "I don't suppose you can fledge on cue? Now would be a really good time."

She shook her head. "Still haven't. Dad's been worried."

"That's okay. It'll happen eventually. But if you do fledge here, flash some talons. It will help." He squeezed her, pressing a kiss to her forehead. He dissipated slowly to keep from startling her. "I'm still with you, Dulcie, but be careful."

And then he was back in the locket. Her hands wrapped tightly around him for a few minutes before she let go again. She picked up the tomato. Wrinkly pulped sections were all that remained, but she put the mess in her pocket. A Deadbeat perched itself on her shoulder, anxiously patting her hair.

"Is it clear out there?" she asked. The Deadbeat by the door whirred anxiously. She sighed, sitting back down. "So I just stay here?" It nodded its head hard. She stared down at her hands, inspecting the tips doubtfully. "I guess I'll find out if I can fledge."

…...

 **Note:** I forgot to mention, I started up a side collection of one-shots related to the Just Legends series (this series) and it is called Previously On Other Peoples' Heartache. So if you're interested in some side stories and other hijinks with the characters that are not necessarily related to the main plot, check it out. Chapter title here excerpted from Faceless by Red.


	16. Being Any Other Place Than This

"Tell me again." Teles stood at the edge of the mansion imprint. She dug the tip of her shoe into the grass, raising a puff of ash that drifted off on the early morning breeze. Sunlight had just broken over the horizon by the time Vivi finished catching her up.

Well, she was caught up on everything except who really killed Kay. Vivi couldn't look anyone in the eye when she purposely skimmed and twisted what happened in the cave from the second-hand accounts she'd gotten. Squire had accepted the blame for a reason. If he hadn't blown the whistle on Aji, no way was she going to be the one to tell Mrs. Pepper.

"Which part?" Vivi asked, licking her lips. Her throat rasped. None of them had supplies on them and whatever dimensional capabilities that mansion had, it had taken the van and all their gear with it. If they survived this case, Vivi swore, she would work out a disaster checklist to follow and it would include _not_ stranding your teammates no matter how distracted you are. Nevermind that they were supposed to follow shortly, what if it didn't work?

"When he killed Kay." Teles turned to Aji. "You were there with him. What happened?"

Aji shoved her hands in her pockets, face pinched. "He just killed her, like he said. You know. When that thing was first in him." She cracked her neck. "He couldn't hold it back enough, I guess. Learned fast after that. What more is there to tell?"

"The figures who took her away. What did they look like? What did they say?"

"Three of them, dressed in raggedy robes and hoods. They said Arthur's thread was supposed to be snipped, not Kay's, but that they couldn't snip her thread. Something about their threads were too tangled together."

"And?" Mrs. Pepper pressed.

Aji's shoulders rose, her jaw flexing. "And they said she was dead even if they couldn't snip the thread, so they were taking her."

"And?" she pressed again.

"And what?" Aji snapped. "What do you want from me? They took her and disappeared like they weren't even there, then Arthur lost it again and nearly killed me too. Or does that even matter? You were so set on protecting Kay and killing Dulcie. What about me? Where am I in all this?"

Vivi bristled, but held her tongue.

"Right here. And alive," Mrs. Pepper responded flatly. "Something neither of your sisters, or several dozen _children_ in the correctional institution can say."

Aji sucked in a breath like she'd been slapped. "How dare you."

"How dare I?" Teles rounded on her. "I trained you from the day you fledged. _Control_ your song, _fight_ every urge. Don't give in! Keep yourself calm! I gave you every tool I had and you were…" she cut herself off.

But Aji picked it right up. "Weak. Go on. Say it. I was weak. Not as strong as Kay. Not as good natured as Kay. Not as kind or loving or hard working as her. I get it." Her face was pale and a vein pulsed at her temple. "Kay's cursed and you try and keep her close to the home. Dulcie's cursed and you try to send her to hell to keep her safe from Demeter."

"Hades," Teles murmured.

"Whatever!" Aji exploded. "And me? You let them clap cuffs on me and haul me off without even coming to visit!"

"I gave you the tools you needed. You didn't listen." Teles folded her arms tightly.

"Right, you'd try a twisted way of short circuiting Dulcie's curse, but you give me a few lessons and figure if I can't fight it then it's my fault."

"I did all I could to keep you from becoming me!"

"Hey!" Vivi clapped her hands sharply, drawing the attention of the two sirens. "I'd love for you two to get your family laundry dealt with, I'm sure Lewis would really like to see this stuff aired out, but we're a little busy right now. So could you knock it off? You're piledriving my jenga tower."

Two blank stares greeted her, and she turned to check on her other problem pair. "Any luck?"

Chloe flapped great lips over blocky teeth in irritation, foam flecking off her muzzle and spraying Mystery in the face. "I don't care how many times you tell me I can do it, it doesn't mean I know how! Say it to me one more time and I will kick your face in!"

Mystery's lips pressed together hard over his fangs, but Vivi could hear his drawn out growl under Chloe's hysterics.

 _Time to put out the other fire._

"Hey, hey." She edged over, putting a hand on Chloe's neck. "We're all friends here. Or, working on it. He's the best bet we have of getting you in touch with however you get us to the other side."

"I don't want to!" she burst out, butting her forehead into Vivi's arms so hard that Vivi had to cling on to keep from falling over. "I'm scared, I'm tired, I'm a unicorn, and I miss Duet. I want to go home."

Mystery's ears pricked and the growl stopped. "Chloe, you just said what you don't want and what you do want." His eyes narrowed. "What did you want when you saw Arthur burned in the graveyard?"

Chloe shuddered at the memory. "He was hurting. He couldn't breathe. I wanted him not to hurt anymore. I wanted him not to die."

"And when you saw Vivi's hand when she hurt it?" he pressed. "And Aji's arm? And me?"

Chloe was quiet for a moment. "I don't like seeing Vivi-chan hurting or sad, I wanted to make her feel better. I wanted to fix her hand. I don't know Aji-san, and I don't like you, but Vivi-chan asked me to help. She likes you and she wants to help Aji-san, so I wanted to also."

"So when you did that, what did you think about? What did you feel?" Mystery pressed.

"I felt a wanting to fix it, make it better. Didn't I just say that? Yabo."

Vivi frowned. "Chloe, stop calling him names."

To his credit, Mystery ignored the jab. "It was an act of will, perhaps? You desired healing, and it came. And you said it yourself, you don't want to go to the other world. You want to go home, but you don't need a gateway for that so one isn't opening."

Chloe whined, pushing her face against Vivi harder, as if she could hide. Vivi would have found it adorable if the gesture wasn't pushing her backwards. She dug her heels in. "Chloe, Chloe hold up. Wait. Can you look at me?"

Chloe pulled her muzzle back, fixing anxious golden eyes on Vivi's.

"There." Vivi stroked her muzzle in a steady rhythm. "I know it's scary, Chloe."

"Do you, Vivi-chan?" Vivi's heart caught at the sadness in Chloe's voice.

"Yeah. I do. I've had memories yanked, put back, and yanked again. I found out most of my best friends aren't human, which can be a little startling. And somehow I'm supposed to keep us all working together and headed to a place I never thought was real to meet Greek gods. Me, little mortal Vivi." She smiled ruefully. "They'll probably laugh at me, huh?"

Chloe's eyes flashed and she stamped a hoof. "Nobody laughs at you, Vivi-chan."

Vivi brushed Chloe's forelock aside, staring sadly at the twisted stump of a horn. "Thanks Chloe. But like I was saying, yeah I know it's scary. And I'd rather lock myself in Tome Tomb-oh yeah, I kind of took over when you guys left-and never come out. But everyone's counting on us. Besides, remember what Duet wanted?"

Chloe's eyes shifted slantwise.

"Come on. You heard him." Vivi pulled Chloe's muzzle up. "Go back. Tell the gods what happened. And don't you want to see it?" She rubbed the velvety fuzz over Chloe's nose. "Duet sounded like he wished he could see it again. It's where you're from, Chloe. Where you really belong."

Chloe's ears lifted straight up, swiveling to face Vivi.

"Yeah, you heard me right. Belong. I heard you worrying what happens to you over here." A lump formed in Vivi's throat, but she pushed it back. "Well, maybe you're right. But over there, we could find someone to take you in. One of the nicer gods. Mrs. Pepper probably knows who to trust." A glimmer sparked at the base of the stump. "And you'd never have to worry about anything again, and maybe you could even find another herd to join."

Chloe's tail swished, the glimmer spreading to the whole of her forehead.

"You want to see where your family was born, right? And we want to go with you." She squeezed Chloe's muzzle. "Take us there."

A dot appeared in the air just over Chloe's horn, spitting sparks in all directions. Mystery's tail began to wag, and a smile spread over Vivi's face.

"That's it, Chloe. Take us there!"

"Wait." Mrs. Pepper spread her hands. "Don't take us there. Your herd lived on _her_ lands. Set hoof on her ground and she will know."

Chloe jerked back, the dot vanishing. Mystery groaned loudly. "If we can't get in through Demeter's lands then where are we supposed to get through?" Mystery snapped. "Chloe was conceived in those lands but she's never been anywhere else. It isn't as though _you_ can open a gateway."

"No, but perhaps I can still guide a lost navigator." She took a stand next to Chloe, who shied back to Vivi. "Chloe. You sought shelter at my house once. Do you remember the song my daughter sang you?"

Vivi watched Chloe's defensiveness fade. "I remember. It didn't hurt as bad when she sang to me." She dipped her head. "I wish I could have gotten to know her more. At least say thank you."

Teles' fingers flexed, and Vivi tensed. There was an impatience in the way Teles carried herself that belied her earlier grief. What was she getting at?

"Do you want to thank her?" Teles asked, and Vivi stiffened.

"What the hell do you mean by that?" Aji demanded.

Ignoring her, Teles repeated, "Do you want to thank Kay for what she did for you?"

Confused, Chloe stammered, "W-well, yes… shikashi…"

Teles drew herself up and lifted her face to the rising sun. "Then listen very, very carefully to the place I will describe to you, and think of how much you want to thank my daughter."

A blur hit Vivi from the side, tackling her to the ground, and paws hit the earth on either side of her head. "Don't move."

Annoyed, Vivi muttered, "I'm fine, Mystery. I spelled my ears against Kay."

"Kay was a halfbreed, Vivi. Teles is an original. Neither you or I are listening to this." A light shimmer closed around Vivi's head, and everything fell silent.

Teles' mouth opened, her lips forming words Vivi could not hear. Chloe's head came up, her eyes rounded in awe. After a few minutes, the dot reappeared just over Chloe's forehead and grew. It widened, tearing open a hole in the space before her.

Closing her mouth, Teles gestured to Vivi, who scrambled clear of Mystery's temporary protection. Scooping him up, she came alongside Chloe.

The portal opened on a rocky shore. At this angle, Vivi could not see to the other side of the river that churned the shoreline, only that it was an angry thing that beat itself white on the boulders in its path.

"Vivi-chan?" Chloe whined, pressing her shoulder into Vivi.

Vivi braced hard and forced a smile. "You did it. Look at you doing magic left, right, and center. Won't even need our help soon. Come on, Chloe. What anime's given you an offer of adventure like this?" And with that, she stepped through the portal onto the shore.

…..

 **Note:** Chapter title excerpted from Fly To Paradise by the Eric Whitacre Singers. Tumblr readers already know this, but to my other platforms, I may need to slow down on updates in favor of painting and beading to build a stock of saleable things. I need to try and bring in some money on the side if possible, and that is going to take priority. Writing will NOT STOP but it is no longer my first creative priority.


	17. In The Dark Count Mistakes

He studied the leaves of the rose bush he knelt by. Though he couldn't place it next to the memory of any other rose, he knew with certainty that he'd never seen anything as green as this leaf. In the same breath, there was no other growing thing in existence greener than the leaf right next to it, including the leaf he had first looked at. Each leaf somehow embodied the entirety of the hue in ways that threatened to unravel the edges of his mind, but he was drawn to inspection by something else about the bush.

Every stem rose in a perfect arc, almost parenthetical, to curve out and back in from base to bloom, forming an oval. The roses themselves stretched gloriously wide and vibrant, not a single petal sagging or out of place.

It was the third such plant he had inspected in the endless garden, waiting for Demeter to return. Every color and hue screamed to the very edge of itself in this place, and his anxiety grew with each inspection.

This place was all wrong. He didn't know why this was so, but even the ground warned him. Not one of the hundreds of thousands of blades of grass under his feet was a different length than the others.

He had no memory to draw on. No left arm. No clothes of his own except the stupid toga. And somehow he was a mortal on Demeter's property. If he couldn't remember what happened, maybe he could figure out what he needed to know by observation. Demeter was terrifying to watch, but she had emotion and facial expressions. Not quite like a human, but there were still things he could figure out.

She was proud, certainly. Orderly in the extreme. She was planning something, and by the looks of it had been planning for a long time. Her daughter was a source of frustration, but also pride. She didn't like Hades… the name briefly conjured an image of a gray skinned man with blue flaming hair, but it vanished before he could lock onto it.

"There you are."

The voice still sent shivers down his spine. There was no denying even her words held some kind of power. But, then, his must as well. _"Have we swallowed some birdsong, Orange?"_ Whatever she meant, he guessed something about his voice gave him the will to choose against a direct command from her, casual though it was. He hoped he wouldn't have to test it further.

He rocked back, pushing up to his feet from a squat. Demeter approached, followed by the girl he had seen upon waking. Straight as a column, her shoulders spread about as thick as one too. Her torso tapered in at the waist before spreading out again. Golden hair had been bound in thick braids that wrapped around her scalp. She smiled at him, her eyes flat and her hands folded at her waist.

She was large, but every bit as human in appearance as Demeter was not. What was the property of a deity's physical appearance in this place?

Demeter turned to her daughter and took her hands, holding them and speaking in a voice too low for him to-

No. He could hear. He shouldn't be able to hear, but he did.

"Remember, Persephone. You must be strong. It is only six months. Endure, my darling."

"I will, mother."

"I will go to my brother and speak to him again. Maybe he will change his mind."

Persephone's eyes glistened, her smile wavering. Demeter cupped her face gently. "Don't lose hope. Someday you will not have to go to him. I swear."

Persephone only nodded, silent.

Demeter turned, and he shifted his eyes to study the tree over their heads, as if that was what he had been watching all along.

"Persephone, run ahead. I would speak with him alone. Orange." She extended a hand, beckoning him closer. As Persephone hurried off, he approached, dipping his head contritely. How did one express respect in such a situation? "Don't be afraid, I'm not going to smite you." There was no humor in her tone and he found himself believing she was quite capable of doing just that. She pressed a tiny greenish-gold apple into his hand. "As I said, you will escort my daughter to the Underworld. Her passage cannot be refused, but you must pay. This will please old Charon more than any gold." She paused, and when she opened her mouth next, something deep within him writhed at the string of syllables she uttered. He staggered, gasping.

"My Pet, I know you hear me," she crooned, and yet every word weighed on him. It was as if lead was collecting in his pores. "When you cross to Hades' land, you will engage his pet. Do so, and you will regain the favor you have lost with me."

His vision swam and he flung out an arm for balance. "You… you already said this…"

"I have had time to think and consider how disturbed I am at this deception." She grasped his arm, steadying him. "It should not be possible, my Pet. So, now it is a command. Not a suggestion." She stroked his arm with a feather-light touch that made his skin crawl. "Birdsong or no, I know your true name. And should you survive, we shall discuss this deception on your return."

Uncomprehending, wobbled his head. How could she know his true name when he didn't even know it? And was his name really that unintelligible string of sounds?

"Go now. My daughter knows the way. Only follow her." She turned away, her voice dropping low. "Keep her carefree along the journey. She will have enough torment where she goes."

Away. He had to get away. He turned tail and ran, certain he was breaking every protocol you could break with a deity, and not caring. Whatever she had just done touched things in him that even he did not have access to and it was terrifying.

A warm hand caught him by the shoulder, holding him fast effortlessly. "Calm yourself, Orange."

Persephone. And somehow, her words affected the desired calmness in him, and he stood still.

"We should be on our way." Her voice was soft, solemn. Her eyes gauged him, and he had the strange sense of being stripped down under that gaze.

"Can all gods make you feel naked just by looking at you?" He blurted, clutching his toga.

The corner of her mouth twitched, and his eyes widened. It was real. For half a second, that smile she wore had been real. How had he not noticed it was otherwise before?

"I hadn't thought of it before," she answered. "I am not like you, so I would not know. But come. It is time to leave." She turned, walking through the garden in evenly measured steps.

He recalled, for a moment, the frustration of Demeter at a cluster of wildflowers in her home and how she had spoken of her daughter. He wondered if the plants in Demeter's lands were the only things shaped to perfection.

They walked in silence as the sun gleamed overhead. He followed in Persephone's footsteps and watched her heels. He did not want to see any more of Demeter's work than he had to.

Those heels led him over a seemingly endless green stretch for what felt like hours. He had no way to measure time, but quite a lot of it passed before his ears picked up the faint sound of rushing water. Persephone's steps quickened, but only a touch faster than before. If his imagination did not deceive him, her breathing came a little more labored now. The water's rushing became a roar, and he followed her heels from grass to a wide granite path, a span only two steps wide that crossed a river. He kept close until the granite span gave way to red, crumbled earth with sparse patches of grass.

Definitely not Demeter's. He raised his eyes. A red wasteland spread out before them, littered with great, cracked boulders and little hillocks with stunted trees poking out here and there.

And here, Persephone's shoulders sagged. She reached up and pulled pins from her hair, unwinding it and running her fingers through it until it tumbled, thick and tangled, to her waist. Her smile was gone, a grim, flat line in its place.

"You're good," he remarked. "I almost thought you were afraid to leave."

"And you're mother's slave. You'll report right back to her. But it doesn't matter." She set off, leaving a trail of curled, thorny vines in her wake. "For six months I'm free of her. And nobody can take that from me."

…..

Dulcie shivered in her little alcove, huddling over the locket's soft warmth. The sun had gone down, and in the several hours she'd been there she'd become absolutely certain of one thing; she could _not_ fledge on cue. Hours straining and grunting and flapping her arms and staring at her fingertips produced nothing at all, in spite of soft, encouraging cheers from the two Deadbeats keeping her company.

The Deadbeats were friendly, but not warm. They piled around her neck and shoulders to no effect, and it kept getting colder.

She scooted toward the arch, peeking around the corner. A Deadbeat tugged on her hair, but she batted at it. "If I stay here I could freeze." The Deadbeat crossed nubby arms, shooting her a look. "Well I could get really sick. If I get up and walk I'll warm up."

The Deadbeat whined, looking to its companion for backup. The second Deadbeat only shrugged, swooping down to perch on Dulcie's shoulder. Taking that as approval, Dulcie crept out of the alcove.

Even though her eyes had adjusted some with the gradual onset of night, there was very little light in the Cage at night. She could just make out a glowing pink dot several yards off. The third Deadbeat had been patrolling the nearest corridor obsessively, and chirped a cautious note as she stepped out. She didn't hear anything particularly alarmed in its tone, so she made her way toward it. One dropped to the ground and rolled along the grass a few feet ahead, acting as a light and sweeping for snake traps.

A rustle sounded behind her, and she whirled around. Where she'd been just a moment before, a new wall had grown in, closing her off from the alcove. Immediately the Deadbeat on her shoulder scolded, smacking one nub to its forehead and complaining loudly. The other two hissed at it, and it subsided into silence, still glaring at the wall.

She didn't blame it, but she hadn't known she'd lose access to her hidey hole either. "We can find another one, right?"

The Deadbeats sighed in unison. Two more exited the locket and together three spread out ahead of her, ducking into other corridors, leaving her with her floor guide and shoulder friend. With nothing else to do, she walked straight ahead, crouching closer to the hedge. The leaves were wet and she realized she was thirsty. She scraped her hands along the side as she passed, hoping to collect enough in her palms for a mouthful.

Her wrists were yanked into the hedge, and she gave a loud cry. The ground and shoulder Deadbeats dove at the brambles dragging her in and chomped at the wood with angry looking teeth. The thorns dug into her wrists and she cried louder. The chomping doubled and brambles snapped apart. She went tumbling back as the Deadbeats both dove to plaster their nubs over her mouth.

Hot tears spilled down her cheeks. She'd promised Lewis she wouldn't fall apart again, but it _hurt_ , and the wall wasn't supposed to attack her. Was the ground going to open up and swallow her too?

"What's this?" A voice asked from the dark.

Immediately the Deadbeats left Dulcie in the dark, flying in separate directions and chittering loudly to draw off the intruder.

"Well, before the light went flying, I'd say it was a little girl." The voice hadn't moved. It was somewhere behind her. Dulcie began crawling toward one of the Deadbeats.

"And I'd say I saw her right about here." A second voice chimed in as a hand fumbled at the back of her shirt, grabbing on.

The Deadbeats came flying back. First two, then three. Four. Five Deadbeats divebombing the intruders, shrieking nasty high pitches and chomping left and right.

The two forms fell back, cursing and shouting for help. Dulcie caught sight of a bare torso and twisted, furry goat legs before a Deadbeat grabbed her arm and hauled her through the next opening it found, right into the middle of a whole band of the creatures.

They both saw the group, but the Deadbeat had been pulling too fast and Dulcie stumbled right into the arms of the first one.

"Well, is this what the screaming is all about?" The man was smiling, but the smile wasn't friendly. "Yab and Bom must have started without us."

There were at least seven or eight and now she was in the center of them and they were holding her still. They didn't act desperate like the harpy, but she couldn't twist free and they were looking at her weird. "Help!" she screamed, hoping to get the attention of the other Deadbeats. The one that had come with her had tackled one to the ground, mauling him, but the others closed in. They didn't even pay attention to their friend writhing on the ground.

"Fresh flesh," breathed one.

"Too long," agreed another.

Deadbeats dived on them from above, each taking a goat man down, but there were still three with fast holds on her, eyes glazed.

One of them shifted his gaze to just over her head, then reeled back, shrieking. He hadn't ended his cry before pink flames swallowed him from the crown of his head to his hooves.

The remaining two broke off, stumbling backward, but fireballs caught them in the stomachs, and their bodies went up in flames as well.

A hand dropped in front of Dulcie's face, blacking out her sight as a giant arm scooped her up. "This is the one and only warning you get." Lewis' voice was darker than she'd ever heard it before. "Anyone who lays hands on her will have to exist in this place charred to a crisp. I expect you to pass the word. The girl with the pink hair is left alone."

Screams of pain filled her ears, and the smell of burning meat turned her stomach. Then they were moving, quickly, and Lewis' voice was soft in her ear.

"I'm sorry, Dulcie. I thought maybe we could avoid… I'm sorry. I'm so sorry." The arms crushed her close. "It won't happen again. I promise. No more hiding in the locket. I've got you. Everything's going to be all right."

…..

 **Note:** Chapter title excerpted from You've Got Time by Regina Spektor.


	18. In An Alarming State

"You wouldn't happen to know anything about what happened to me before I woke up in your home, would you?" he asked, keeping to Persephone's heels as before. It was dark now, and hard to see, though she seemed to know this path by heart.

"Less than what you yourself know," she answered.

"Well that's unhelpful." He sighed, scratching his head. "Is there anything you can tell me about myself at all? Your mother seems to know me."

She turned to glance at him for a moment, before responding, "She's spoken of her Pet before. The one she got to make everything right. I never met him, but somehow that is you. It doesn't seem likely, though. No mortal can do what she wants. But it's besides the point."

"What's besides the point?" He asked, aghast. "If the point is that I'm someone's Pet, that's very much on topic! How? Why? What exactly does she think I can do?"

"Fix things that don't need to be fixed, of course."

The brambles underfoot stabbed at his feet, and he shifted his course to follow from the left. Her moods seemed to influence which plants sprouted and Demeter had failed to provide him with shoes.

"So, you don't need to be saved. At least, not from him."

He watched her arms come up and wrap around herself. Sorrow flashed through his chest at the gesture, vanishing as quickly as it came.

"I thought so. So, who's going to save you from her?"

"Nobody." Her voice was lifeless and her footprints barren, now.

"Why can't you just leave?" He asked.

"Asks the mortal who feels naked under our eyes. Do not ask what you cannot hope to understand."

They walked for a time in silence. He turned the situation over in his mind, but could draw nothing new from it.

"I'm sorry." He rubbed his eye, tired. "Whatever's going on in this situation, it seems like you got the short end of the stick. I don't know what she expects me to do, but I've mounds more sympathy for you than her." He came even with her on the left.

She glanced at him off and on, her eyes darting to the side and back down to the ground. It didn't seem like she wanted to talk more about it, so he turned his thoughts inward, poking at the edge of the gaping holes in his mind. It would have to be some traumatic event, perhaps. Or a technology he didn't understand? Then again, given where he was, a curse was not out of the question.

"Better take care of your arm." She gestured at his arm. "It's the only one you have left."

"My...?" He lifted his arm to take a look. Dark marks smudged his arm all along the length. It looked like a dozen tiny bruises stretched out… along…

No, not bruises.

Something flickered in his mind. There was a pattern to the bruises. They were too faded to be under the skin. They were on top of the skin. Quite faded, but his vision flickered at the edges. Something about these marks was important.

"Orange?" Persephone had stopped. Had he stopped? When had he stopped moving? "Are you all right?"

He couldn't respond. What he saw wasn't a word anymore, but it had been a word once. How did he know it had been a word?

 _She wrote it._

"Who is she?" He asked, his breath whistling between clenched teeth. "What is 'it'?"

"Who are you speaking to?" Persephone asked.

 _She wrote it so you wouldn't lose your way._ "That's what they do. They help you find your way when you're lost."

"Do you even know what you are saying?" Persephone's voice was far away. In his mind, he watched a writing implement glide over his arm, connecting the faded marks.

A word faded from transformation, from stretching out and rebounding like his body was never meant to do.

 _Arthur._

…..

In the dark of his mind, a figure emerges. A large, beastly fox with burning eyes, snapping its jaws and roaring. A man, bound by vines to a seat on its back, sagging over its spine. He looks like a clay figure baked too long, deep fissures running every which way over a body hastily painted to cover the flaws. His head does not lift.

Arthur. The Shiker.

" _Goddess? Goddess?!"_ the fox bellows. _"Celestial harridan! Divine whorekeeper of the fruit of the earth, has she not stripped me of enough? She knows we don't have the strength for this!"_

The man, Arthur, barely moves. He clutches in his fingers a single gold feather, its length clumped and sodden.

The Shiker shakes himself, whiplashing Arthur viciously. _"Enough! I did what you asked. You can say what no human can, that the Shiker drank you dry and returned you to yourself. Now leave it! The firstborn is dead and gone. As you are so set on this task, attend what is left of her family. What have we learned?"_

The man finally lifts his head, his voice barely audible. "She knows your name. Demeter knows who you are, and because of this you are bound to obey."

 _"A redundant, useless observation that will not help us. I am aware of my bonds. All of them."_

"But we are not fully hers. She does not have my name. What is it about names, Shiker?"

 _"I am you, and you are me, but you do not understand this simple thing yet? Your identity, your memories, your desires and dreams and determination are all a part of who you are, human creature. Gathering each together takes time and understanding of each and every moment of that life that only you have, but there is a loophole. A shortcut."_

"A name."

 _"A name encompasses all. It is a symbol that binds you to who you are from birth to death. Humans are so careless of their names, writing them down and calling them across the room. Once you have a name, you have some power over that name. The greater your power and understanding of the name, the greater the compulsion to obey."_

"And she has power over you. Your name is not The Shiker."

 _"It is the name I gave myself."_

"But she knows your real name." Arthur's mouth twists in a humorless smile. "I can't even pronounce it, what good is it to me?"

 _"No good to you. But your name is safe. You played the witless fool perfectly, because I left you a witless fool, just as you told me to. The ruse worked, and you continue to be useful to my survival."_ The Shiker cranes his neck around, snapping the tightest vines with his teeth. Arthur slides from his back, sprawling in the darkness. _"Gods, you are pathetic. Damaged. If I didn't need you still, I would take this life for myself now."_

Arthur barely stirs.

The Shiker growls, baring teeth. _"That used to provoke a fighting spirit. On Demeter's charge, we are about to face an unknown enemy, Puppet. It galls me, but you must be present and active if we hope to survive the fight."_

Arthur curls his arm closer, pressing the feather against his face.

 _"I do not have time for this!"_ The Shiker paws at the harness of vines that still connects them. These do not snap, and Arthur refuses to rise.

For a moment, The Shiker overshadows Arthur, staring down with parted jaws. The jaws close, abruptly, and instead he speaks, bringing out each word as if it pains him. _"We both know you have nothing left to fight me with, Puppet. When this is over, it won't even be a struggle to take control. Get up, Puppet. And I promise. That when I take your life for my own. I will walk away. I will leave everyone you care for. They will not suffer under us. Only. Get. Up."_

Arthur is still one moment longer, then he balls a fist around that feather and pushes himself to his knees. Pieces of him crack off and crumble to dust, but he strains to his feet. The Shiker curls a lip, but braces Arthur with his muzzle, lending his strength.

 _"Now. Think. What have we learned?"_

….

 _You are moving, but you are still. The riddle is solved as you regather scattered senses and feel arms cradling you like a child, though not with the tenderness of a mother._

 _"Set me down," you croak, mortified at how weak you sound. "I can walk."_

 _"You can walk, but you have slowed me down long enough." Persephone's firmness leaves no room for your protest. "If you must accompany me, it is at my pace now, not yours."_

 _Leave it be. It is better to focus on what knowledge we've gathered. Demeter's closet. We could not see properly, buried as we were, but now the memory comes into focus. The shelves lined with little red gems, rows of Hoshi No Tama stolen and cultivated. She stroked, not the air around them, but sproutlets. At least a dozen seedling curses for every Hoshi No Tama she had stored away._

 _I had wondered who she used them on. But she hadn't used a single one since the siren curse. There was enough to throw whole family lineages into disarray, perhaps even trap a small town in some sort of never ending hell, depending on how she directed the curses' purpose._

Or she could curse a god.

 _Hades._

Hades.

 _She would reclaim her daughter at any cost and punish any hindrance to her cause, that much we have seen. How much power does it take to curse a god?_

This is your expertise. How much?

 _Less than what she has._

Demeter is exact. She would not make more than she needs.

 _Then she has her eye on someone else. At least one more god, or else many humans have slighted her. But she could throw mortals in the Cage and be done with it, so it must be another god._

We could really use a good internet connection. What do you know about Greek gods?

 _Nothing. I am not of their realm. I know Demeter, and she only spoke of what I needed to know. None of this was known to me before._

Persephone knows.

 _You trust too easily._

Persephone and Hades know. We need allies. We need help.

 _We are about to attack his pet, Puppet. He will hardly be disposed to listen to us._

Leave his trust to me.

 _You wouldn't happen to know who his pet is? Or what it is?_

I'm a mechanic. All I know about Hades comes from Disney, and I'm not a fan of basing my attack strategy on movies. I was too busy trying to stop you to get to reading that Greek mythology book I picked up. Thanks, by the way.

 _Irrelevant now. We are drained._

How bad is it?

 _Demeter's fruit restored us to the extent that we can be restored by food, but you have completed two full transformations within a week in a body that is not designed for it. Besides that, drinking your mind and returning it has damaged your soul. To put it bluntly, you will draw on reserves neither of us has anymore if you try again. No telling how long you can keep the will to fight. No telling how long it will take to recover after, and that is assuming we come anywhere near winning. It is more likely we will run out of energy or willpower to hold the form, and be killed._

Does it take less energy to hold a smaller form?

 _It is possible. It does not matter as much for me, but it stands to reason that the closer a form is to your natural size, the less of a drain it is on you._

What else can we do? What takes the least amount of energy?

 _You have only to engage your rage to catch fire. If we can manage a glamour, we could appear a different size than we are._

So we can look a lot scarier while throwing off their aim.

 _There's the clever Puppet._

You will have to supply the will to fight. And the strength. I have none left.

 _Done. Your part is to feed me directions. For this time, I will comply without question. You can convince Hades of our worth to live?_

I can raise his curiosity enough. Put up a good fight for show, then submit and let them take us.

 _The exchange of information is complete. You open your eyes. Sure enough, Persephone carries you. You smirk. She is so weak._

 _"No spine of your own," you sneer. "So fearful of her wrath, you can't even leave me where I collapsed."_

 _You are dumped to the ground and nearly trampled underfoot. She doesn't break stride for a moment, continuing on. "I would have left you, if you hadn't been crying so."_

 _Your eyes widen. You wept? Of course. The resurgence of recent memory, all bitter and shattering. While we regained our mind, the body tried to rid itself of the grief. You scramble to your feet, hurrying to catch up. She does not look at you._

 _"And you are my mother's Pet." Her tone is anything but friendly. "Whatever you have done to Orange, I hope it was swift and painless, for your sake."_

"Arthur."

 _She falters, her eyes darting sideways to you. Must you do this? Your trust will ruin us!_

"My name is Arthur. And I am still here."

 _"How is this?" she demands, coming to a full stop. You have arrived at another river, but there is no bridge in sight. "And why would you give me your name?"_

"Help me." _You stagger, and she turns to catch you. I hope you know what you are doing._ "Listen, Persephone. I had to hide. I had to keep your mother from knowing my name. But you… you may know my name. There is more happening than I have time to explain. I am… we are under orders from your mother. But you have to keep us alive. We have information for Hades."

 _"Why are you telling me this?" She is torn. Suspicious-anything to do with her mother is terrible. But your sincerity and weakness works for you this time. Perhaps she can see what those eyes that you are not lying. There is no telling what a goddess knows._

"Because there's people I have to take care of, and this is the only way. Please." _You clutch her arm. Your pitiful display gags me, but her eyes soften._ "They're depending on me."

 _"What about the Pet?"_

 _"What about me?" You snarl. "Don't speak of me as if I am not present. If anything, the Puppet only exists because I have allowed it for now. I am master here, do not let it be said otherwise."_

Your pride will ruin this. Let me talk to her!

 _"I see how it is." She is quiet, staring at us again. It is so uncomfortable, worse with your weakened soul. It is as if she can see the damage within. Her gaze burns._

 _A boat approaches. A cloaked figure stands at the prow, dragging the boat along by a lengthy, black pole it thrusts into the water. The hull runs up with a crunch against the shore, and the boatman leans on the pole._

 _"M'lady." He grovels, but it is sincere. He is less than she. "M'lord awaits."_

 _She turns, still supporting you. "We are coming."_

 _He puts out a hand. "Extra passengers pay their own way, M'lady. A gold coin, lad."_

 _You fumble in the folds of the toga._

What a stupid piece of clothing. If we survive, we're never wearing this again.

 _You find it just as his hand begins to pull back, and hold it out to him. "For the crossing," you say smugly. "Freshly picked from Demeter's garden."_

 _The hand is very still. Then it moves, faster than sight, and the apple is gone. "A fair payment." His voice states it is a good deal more than fair. He gestures to the boat. "Come. Lord Hades has been waiting."_

 _..._

 **Note:** I found a way to update fairly consistently and keep up with projects without losing my mind. Here's hoping. Chapter title excerpted from Nightmare by Set It Off.


	19. Everyone Was Working For This Goal

**Note:** My thanks to Backuppixiedust for a question she asked that made me think about Lewis and what happens with him in a place where there's no death. However, be warned. Any chapter with the Cage has dark and disturbing imagery, and this is no exception.

…..

For once, Lewis was grateful he no longer had lungs. The force of life squeezed around him with such pressure, he would have choked had he needed to draw breath.

Lewis paced a frantic circle around the barren fig tree he'd scorched into submission moments earlier. What had looked like fruit hanging from the tree had proved to be fat-bodied flying spiders that dropped and homed in on Dulcie the second he stepped into its shade. Nothing remained of them but writhing embers and the tree spreading blackened branches accusingly.

The area was a circle with three openings leading in at even intervals with no decent cover, but it was the first near-enclosure he'd found since Dulcie had left the first one. And so he walked the circle, posting a Deadbeat at every opening and sending two out to keep scouting.

Dulcie hadn't seen the spiders and had only curled up tighter when Lewis threw flames. She hadn't opened her eyes since he had covered them the night before.

He'd seen children like this. They gave up and stopped moving, and refused to move no matter what the other children or the Shiker did to them. They weren't taken in for healing. They weren't broken properly, they'd just given up, and the Shiker left them to die.

Heat roiled in his chest cavity. The Shiker would not win. Lewis would _not_ lose Dulcie too. Everything that had been done to him, everything he'd lost, everything he'd become. It was that hellbeast's fault, all of it!

Kay's face flashed in his mind, followed swiftly by Arthur's.

No. That wasn't true. Lewis' head drooped in shame. Not everything.

Lewis' steps slowed as he replayed a moment in his mind. The moment Kay saw him for the first time since he died. That terrible mixture of grief and overwhelming joy as she spread her arms to embrace him. He'd hardly seen her excitement, so fixed was he on Arthur. He only spared a thought to make himself incorporeal; he didn't want to touch her. _Traitor,_ he'd thought.

And Arthur. Lewis was beginning to grasp the size of the debt he owed his friend. That there was anything left to save at all… he tightened his grip on Dulcie, his pace picking up again. And for it, Arthur would have to live bound to the most horrible creature in existence, with every memory of what it had done embedded in his mind. Arthur, who always had his back, even when Lewis didn't have his.

If Arthur thought he could just give up and end himself before Lewis had a chance to fix things, he had another think coming. It was Arthur who had refused to give in up to this point, and Lewis would be damned if he saw his friend give up so soon. Arthur was smart, but he could get stuck sometimes. There had to be another way to deal with the Shiker, Lewis just had to find it before Arthur did something stupid.

A Deadbeat's complaints tugged at the edge of his mind. Pausing mid-step, he honed in on the Deadbeat's vision. He recoiled a step, though nothing was in front of him.

The Deadbeat harried one of the few things Lewis actually recognized; a centaur. Its human ribs pressed against painfully translucent skin. Gashes and gouges marked it from shoulders to flank, but the worst was its hollowness. The horse half dragged, nearly flat, as the creature pulled itself forward on bony arms and knobby forelegs. Everything below the forelegs had been hollowed out.

Lewis did not want to know what had happened to this creature, and he did not want to face something this wretchedly miserable.

But it would not be deterred. Lewis understood, from the Deadbeat's defensive yammering, that it had attacked this horse-beast every way it could, but it kept moving. The centaur was, Lewis could hear, mumbling about pink hair.

He braced himself. He had warned them. Now he had to back up his claim, or there would be no end to the scavengers. Still, he would not let go of Dulcie. "Someone's coming," Lewis murmured to her. "Keep your eyes closed."

He may as well have told a stone to stay still.

The centaur pulled itself through the opening across from Lewis, then stopped to catch its breath, rasping horribly.

"Leave now." Lewis' voice lacked the authority he wanted, but this creature was no threat. It had a full head of white hair and a scraggly beard from chin to chest, and Lewis wondered how it found the strength to haul its useless body.

It lifted its head and fixed bloodshot eyes on Lewis. "You," he gasped, "protect… her?"

"Good to know the word's spread so fast." Lewis turned on his heel, heading for an exit. He didn't have the heart to set this one on fire. "This isn't a great spot, but if you can hold it, it's yours. Just stay away."

"Wait!" Its cry gave way to a horrible, watery coughing. Lewis shuddered to hear it, but paused, waiting until it found the air to continue. "You killed them?"

"They attacked my sister." Lewis' hair flickered at the memory. "I'm not sorry."

"You… killed them."

"Yes. I'm not sorry."

"You killed them!"

Lewis spun around, flamelets prickling off his skull as his human image gave way to the vengeful skeleton. "Yes! I set them on fire to live in this place charred to a crisp and I'm not sorry and… and…" his voice trailed off as the centaur's words sank in. "And…"

"You killed them." The hope in the centaur's eyes was a knife in Lewis' chest. So. That was why the sense of life was so hostile. He understood why the centaur had come.

Carefully, Lewis set Dulcie under the tree. All five Deadbeats clustered around her, keeping watch in all directions as Lewis approached the centaur.

"Do you understand how much it hurts?" Lewis asked, his suit crawling with remembered flames. He could almost taste his own ashes.

The centaur gestured at the back half of its body, swallowing weakly. Lewis understood. Whatever pain he would inflict would be short lived compared with the hell that had already been endured.

The air pressed in harder, as if sensing his intent, and he struggled to hold his form. He reached out, covering the centaur's face with his hands. He could at least make this as short as he possibly-

The force around him ripped apart like tissue paper. At his feet, the grass turned gray and shriveled out in a circle that spread for several feet and the centaur crumbled to dust.

It happened in the span of a few seconds, and then the life snapped back on him with a vengeance. His form flickered as he staggered back, but the deed was done. Flames were not necessary, his touch was enough. But then, did his presence endanger Dulcie in other ways?

This was no place to keep her. He had to keep looking. He turned to retrieve his sister and came skull to face with Demeter, red clay roiling in her face around stone eyes perfectly still. Watching.

….

Red and gray gravel crunched under Vivi's shoes. Several more crunches followed, and anxious meadow-breath whuffed at the back of her neck while fur pressed against her leg. She reached one hand up to Chloe's muzzle and the other down to Mystery's head. "Look, we made it. I've no idea where the brittleskirts we are, but we made it.

"Acheron." Teles crunched slowly to the edge, the choppy water slapping her feet. "Bordering Hades' land. Charon will have noticed us. He will come soon." She stared over the water, and Vivi noticed that Teles no longer slumped. Her shoulders were straight, her head tilted back.

"Who cares about a river?" Aji exploded. "You got Chloe here by promising she could thank Kay. What the hell did you mean by that?"

Teles' lips pressed in a thin line. "It sounds like the _Moirai_ took your sister. The…" she made a snipping motion between two fingers for a few moments before lighting on the word. "The Fates. Something tangled in her destiny, otherwise they would not have come."

Vivi sucked in a breath. If Kay wasn't totally dead, Lewis had a shot to fix things. And Arthur… "We gotta find her! Where is she?"

"If she was killed, she should be Hades' subject. They will have taken her there to try and sort any problem."

"What sort of tangle?" Aji asked. "Is she alive?"

"I don't know. But Hades and Persephone owe me more than they know. I don't care if they are gods. I will have compensation from them." Teles scanned the river. "There. Charon."

Vivi dug her toe in the gravel. She had the feeling she wasn't as in charge as she was a moment ago. But that didn't have to be a bad thing, right? Teles knew the lay of the land, including who they had to meet. She could step back and let the siren lead.

Vivi blinked. "Um, guys? I didn't do a _lot_ ofreading on this, but don't we need to pay a toll to cross?"

"A Unicorn goes where it pleases, so pay no mind to his grumbling, Chloe. As for the rest of us," Teles' mouth curled slightly. "Though gold is precious to old Charon, there are some things he values more, and passage can be bought for a song."

Vivi released a sigh. At least that was taken care of, though Mystery would have to bubble her head again, probably. She patted Chloe's nose over her shoulder. "See? Nothing to worry about. Teles knows what's going on. We'll tell Hades what's going on and he'll sort everything out, we'll have the gang back together in no time."

As she finished her sentence, a perfectly pitched howl split the air. It was like daggers raking across her brain, and she tumbled to the ground, clutching her head. Then, blissful silence. Mystery crouched over her, snarling, "Damnfool Arthur! What does he think he's doing using the siren war cry?"

Teles' eyes were wide, and Aji turned, sprinting down the beach. Feathers layered themselves back from the wing structure that formed along her arm and beyond her fingers, and she took to the air, gaining altitude as she sailed over Acheron.

"He'd better be in one piece when we find you!" Vivi shouted after her. "Or I'll make a grass skirt outta your flight capabilities!"

….

 _You step off Charon's vessel like he doesn't even exist. He doesn't matter, now. Only Hades and Hades' pet matters._

 _Persephone's eyes flay you, you can feel it without turning. She doesn't know what to think of you anymore. Good. Even to her, Puppet, we should not be an open book. You are fool to think we can fully trust any of the gods, you do not understand, and I cannot afford the cost of your ignorance._

 _The land is bleak. The earth is a mix of red clay and gray dust. Nothing grows, except where Persephone treads-she has taken the lead again-there are small blooms. Forget-Me-Not, Forget-Me-Not, her steps say._

 _You follow her Forget-Me-Nots to a-do not knot up so, Puppet, you cannot balk at every cave mouth you see just because of our little incident._

Bastard. Murderer.

 _Don't fight me now, Puppet. He's dead, his sister is the one you want to preserve. The cave is a lone hillock rising from the wasteland, and there is a figure at the mouth._

 _Persephone breaks into a run, white chrysanthemum, gardenia, and lilac burst from the ground as she lifts her feet, a carpet of green and white springing to life in her wake-oh Puppet, we are fortunate. None can match this, the growth is lush and vibrant and wild-crawling. A shiver courses down your spine. There is a sacredness in this growth that can be found in no corner of Demeter's garden._

 _Again, you question me. Do not question me, Puppet. I would not be entranced as you say if we were not one. Your weakness infects me._

Liar.

 _She is in his arms. It can only be Hades. A man to match her height holds her with arms of burnished bronze. No, steel. Now it can only be gold. Silver? With every breath he changes. Now diamond. Now copper. Now the molten rock from below the crust. Now emerald._

 _You examine Persephone again. Of the three gods you have seen, only she appears human. Why, Puppet?_

Not enough information.

 _A guess?_

Demeter.

 _Sound guess. Her feet leave the ground as he holds her and_ Kay's weight in my arms, she's laughing. I caught her off guard. It's so hard to get a smile out of her lately, but it's so worth it _PUPPET. Focus!_

 _There is the scourging stare. He has the eyes of the heart of the earth, a pair of gemstones you have never seen before alight with the heat of the planet's core. The color changes at every angle and under this stare you approach._

 _We must find his Pet._

"Lord Hades," Arthur croaked, pushing briefly to the forefront. His knees shook, but not from fear. Gods, what he wouldn't give for a week of sleep. "I bear greetings from Demeter."

 _His face is iron. You are supposed to influence him kindly toward us! Pet… gods, it grows in me. We must find the Pet._

 _"You have done your duty." His voice is the whisper of cut steel being dragged from a sword sheath. "Now leave my realm."_

"If only I could." Arthur forced a grim smile, his knees giving under him, one hand pressed to the ground. "But things are never what they seem any more. And so, Lord Hades, I beg one favor."

 _His eyes burn, daring us to speak further. His Pet. His Pet! His Pet!_

"Kill me, but only when you have the information you need!"

 _Trickery! Deceit! Damn you, Puppet! Nothing left for it. The bones shift loose and a great howl rips from your throat. A howl laced with the siren's voice, a challenge that cannot be ignored._

 _An attacker seeks entrance. I will drink their souls, all of them. Come against me, Pet. Defend your Master's kingdom._

…

 **Note:** Chapter title excerpted from The Adventure by Angels & Airwaves. HERE. WE. GO.


	20. Won't Let You Choke

_Too swift. It must have been waiting in the shadows. You have been too long unchallenged and your sense of impending danger is not as strong as this guardian's. You only register a large form moving at you before rolling aside, casting the glamour in sudden desperation._

 _Your limbs come looser, almost ape-like and heavily clawed as you come up on all fours-threes. You only have three, remember that or you'll be the one reeling. The glamour builds the appearance of a body around you. The form that terrorized your friend, yes. That will do nicely. You appear to warp, becoming a colossal skeleton with ragged wings outstretched to either side, and a batlike skull with one glowing eye to roll between the sockets-No, you cannot even conjure its memory now that the Hoshi no Tama is gone. Flames, instead. Green fire blazing from every vertebrate and joint._

 _The glamour will take some abuse, but not much before it crumbles._

 _It is only seconds, but the Pet is already upon you again, and the only reason you are not dead is that the glamour projects a much larger form, and that is what the Pet attacks._

 _A dog, but more than that. Three heads, each set on its own short, serpentine neck. One strikes at the skull, locking with it jaw to jaw._

Hang on, they're all different.

 _No time! One strikes at your neck, and one coils back to stare._

They're all different head shapes. Even fur lengths. Dogs are bred for traits-these are three different breeds, this thing probably has the top quality of each breed.

 _Unless you know dog breeds from ancient times, Puppet, your observations are useless!_

I can tell you the middle one is a thinker, it's probably already figuring out why we don't react in pain. The one attacking our face has jaws for crushing, the strongest. The one at our neck… not sure yet.

 _The glamour has only so much resistance to true, physical assault! As it crumbles, you slide under the beast, springing off the ground on lengthened legs and hooking a handful of claws into its hide. It whirls fast-_ speed, that is the last one, it has speed. A Thinker, the Strong, and the Swift.- _and the Swift head strikes. You have only the time to raise a clawed foot-now much more ape-like-and cut across its nose, deflecting the bite._

 _You swing up to the hindmost quarters, just beyond reach of the three heads that have turned to attack. Their teeth snap inches away, but it is only chasing its tail. It cannot reach you. The Thinker faces forward and the body begins to move erratically, bucking and shaking. It tilts over, and you spring free before its roll crushes you._

 _The glamour is re-established in seconds. No matter that the Pet knows the truth of the facade, once it is up it cannot tell where exactly the real threat lies, and that is the point. You issue the challenge again, taunting it._

 _Two heads lunge forward, but the Thinker draws back, staring at you. The body does not move, it only crouches, circling in wariness._

 _It knows that you are, in truth, small and low to the ground, it will be looking to protect the leg tendons that keep it standing. Where would it not consider being attacked?_

 _There is a shout. The Thinker and Swift heads turn aside, abruptly, and the Strong one propels the body toward you, taking advantage of the Thinker's distraction. Strong is not likely to be the one considering how you will attack, only thinking of its own attack. You pitch the glamour up-the skeleton rearing high-as you run under, again. The dog rears, the Thinker snapping back to attention too late. You fasten teeth on one of its hind hocks, ripping flesh free. It buckles for a moment, but then it is on you._

 _You. Not the glamour. It has you with precision, teeth sunk into the remaining shoulder. The glamour shatters in your pain and memories._

Lewis! Lewis, no! I didn't mean it!

 _And… released? But why? Focus! Your arm hangs useless. Direct strength to the legs, sharpen the teeth and thicken the jaw. Though, at this point, it is futile and you know it._

 _Red wings beat one of the faces, and the other two heads are rounding to see._

Aji.

 _Distraction, Puppet? Is this the answer? Very well. We can hardly keep focus with two minds, three heads are easier to divide. Aji has hooked claws on the muzzle of Strong, clinging for dear life. One of its eyes runs with blood._

 _You bellow the cry a third time, lunging for a foreleg, but too slow. Swift has you pinned underpaw and is crushing your ribcage._

Aji keeps Strong occupied, and the Thinker is torn. But it isn't enough.

 _We weren't strong enough. Curse Demeter._

 _You blink. The Thinker now has a large golden bird at its eyes, beating its wings, but Thinker isn't fighting back. Swift's head is in assist, now trying to catch a wing in its teeth, but its attempts are halfhearted._

No, it's being careful. It doesn't want to hurt the bird. Why?

 _The three heads are in a muddle and the paw lifts off, but there is nothing left in you. Your claws are gone, your joints back tightly in place, your teeth blunt. The last of our energy spent and it was no use anyway._

We did it. We engaged the Pet, it barely had to do more than toy with us. Now we must beg mercy.

 _The heads shake free and all three dive at you. There is no time to draw breath to cry mercy._

 _Gold wings fan out in front of you. The bird hangs in the air, just over your chest, before landing. It holds its wings out, its head down aggressively, curved beak open wide. No sound, though. What is it doing?_

 _The Pet rages. It roars and growls and makes striking motions, but the bird never flinches. It beats its wings at the monster several hundred times its size, its beak wide open in silent challenge._

 _Yet the Pet does not touch the bird or you. Puppet, what is the meaning of this bird?_

 _"Enough."_

 _A voice like steel hitting stone, and the Pet sags back, growling and bleeding, but only superficially wounded._

Aji is on the ground. Unconscious? Hurt?

 _It doesn't matter. Hades stands over us now. His eyes are terrible. If it was uncomfortable under Persephone, our soul fairly writhes under his stare. Blood, there is so much blood on our soul, and he sees it all._

"No, please, I didn't want it! I didn't want him dead!"

 _So much blood! This is your fault! I should not feel their deaths!_

Lewis.

 _The children. The herd. My pack. Her._

 _Wings. Blocking your view of Hades, and Hades' view of you. The bird's aspect is no longer a challenge, its head ducked, its wing-spread now like a plea._

 _And Persephone is at his shoulder, a hand on his arm. You cannot hear what is said. Your senses are fading. Too much for this body, every time…_

…..

"And who are you?" Demeter asked, boring into him with those never-moving eyes.

Lewis didn't move. Even his hair stayed perfectly still. Maybe if he didn't budge, she wouldn't know how badly the question rattled him.

"You must have a name." The space between them seemed to shrink, though she never moved. "Unless it is only 'The Eldest Son.'"

His anchor hammered painfully. Teles had taken him in, housed him, and raised him for slaughter. She knew what was coming and said nothing. Was he, then, truly a son?

Perhaps not to Teles, but to Timothy. And he was more than a son.

 _Here lies Lewis. Beloved son. Recovering brother. Remorseful friend. Protective lover._

His heart steadied and he remained silent. The pressure around him eased just slightly. The line of Demeter's mouth hardened, the earth within her turning up small stones.

"My Pet allowed for your presence, didn't he?" The words fairly slithered from her mouth. "My Pet, or the fragment of the human that clings to existence. Or perhaps My Pet has deceived me on all counts. Which is it, Eldest Son?"

Panic reared its head again. If she came after Arthur, Lewis wouldn't be there to protect him. He couldn't even warn him. He had to deal with this here and now, and his mind went blank.

 _Not now. I have to think of what to do!_

His heart lurched. That wasn't who he was, though, he didn't solve the problems. He reminded the group to eat, drove them, ran the finances, and did the practical, down-to-earth aspect of the missions. He didn't need the spotlight, Vivi could have that. But he couldn't be Arthur. He didn't know how to think his way out of tight spots on the fly, he needed time.

Bits of slag rolled around her middle, and he got the feeling her patience was running thin. Why she hadn't just crushed him already, he had no idea.

"You trespass my Cage, shorten the sentence of an inmate, and defy me to my face. Tread carefully, Eldest Son."

"You don't know his name."

Lewis' skull jerked back to the tree. Dulcie leaned against the trunk, her mouth curled as if nauseous.

"You don't know his name. I bet you don't know my name. I bet you don't know any of our names. We're just eldest, Firstborn, Second, and Third. That's it."

Demeter's head tilted sideways against her eyes as she inspected Dulcie. Lewis was paralyzed. If Demeter struck, what could he do against her? A failed attempt would bring penalties on Dulcie!

"I know you. You're the real reason mom tries to kill me." Her breath hitched. "And you're why he's really dead."

"You're right, I don't know. Enlighten me." Demeter crouched, coming eye to eye with Dulcie. "What is your brother's name?"

Dread filled Lewis. It always came back to names, why did it always come back to name and identity? She wasn't asking to shake who he was, she was asking because she wanted to know. Why? Whatever the reason, if that's what she wanted, she couldn't be told his name!

He shook his head at Dulcie, and Demeter snapped to her feet, an arm outstretched toward him. He was pressed to his knees by the weight of the atmosphere. Life was choking him, tearing at his projection.

 _I can't disappear on Dulcie again!_

Lurching forward, Dulcie ran past Demeter as if the goddess didn't exist. Throwing her arms around the hollow collar of his suit, she cried, "I know who you are, don't go!"

 _Lewis. Her brother. Protector._

His eyes fell on the pile of dust nearby, and another thought struck him.

 _And, in this place, I am also Death._

For the second time, Life tore away from him, and Demeter took a step back, as if struck.

 _It's a game of names and identity._

He pushed himself to his feet, and Dulcie slipped her hand into his, turning toward one of the openings and leading him toward it.

Demeter's eyes again, he could feel them on him trying to peel him back and pry him open, but there was nothing to peel back and pry open.

"When my Pet returns, he will come for you, Eldest!" Demeter hissed. "I will send him after you to strip what is left. And he will not fail, I will make sure of it."

With that, Lewis scooped Dulcie into his arms and pelted through the arch, tearing blindly down the corridor.

 _Not again. Not the Shiker. Please._

….

 **Note:** Chapter title excerpted from The Cave by Mumford and Sons. Also noting, I am not sure as of this point in time whether Teles' bit in the last chapter was super expositiony or not… but I already released it. And I'm acknowledging it might be a messed up section, but I try to work with what I have already released. Too many people already saw it for me to redact and fix. So, apologies, and moving forward.


	21. I'll Know My Name When It's Called

Dulcie kept her arms tight around the empty neck hole as Lewis careened through the maze, knocking over a woman with vines for hair and bark for skin. She burst into a cloud of dust and Lewis ran faster. He rounded a corner, bowling through half a dozen goat men that each disintegrated.

He let out a wail and the locket flashed red-hot against her chest. She shrieked and Lewis stopped so quickly she almost flew out of his arms.

She scrabbled at the locket, pulling it off and holding it away from her skin by the chain.

"Gods, Dulcie, I'm sorry! Are you okay? I…" Lewis set her down, backing away, his huge fingers raking through hair that wasn't really there. "I didn't mean it, I can't always keep it… I'm…"

Dulcie stood in front of him, looking up at the fiery skull and the funeral suit. She sucked in her lower lip, biting it to keep it still.

"Oh please don't cry, I'm sorry. I didn't mean to hurt you!"

She opened her mouth, two tiny words tumbling out.

He leaned forward, only slightly. "What?"

"I'm sorry."

Bewildered, Lewis raked his fingers over his skull again. "Don't, Dulcie, why are you apologizing? I have to be more careful. I won't panic again, I swear… I'll try. Let's just try and find a safe-"

"Mom won't say it so I gotta."

Lewis took a step back.

"You could be alive if you weren't my brother." Dulcie swiped her arm across her nose hard. "You could've been someone else's brother and stayed alive. You should've. It's not okay."

"Dulcie-"

"It's not okay!" she yelled. "It's not okay what happened and it's not okay that you had to do everything you were told with us and now you're scared after you're dead and you don't even get to rest or be with Vivi like you want to and it's our fault too and I'm sorry for all of us!"

Lewis stared down at her, and she willed herself to keep her chin up, meeting him eye to eye. Nobody else had apologized but Arthur, and it wasn't even his fault. She would apologize for them. And maybe Lewis would walk off and leave her, but she had to say it.

"When did you get so angry?" he asked, softly.

Dulcie didn't have an answer.

He lifted her into his arms again. He'd begun to look a little more like himself now, with skin and nose and lips, and his hollowed out eyes were heavy and sad. "You said it earlier, Dulcie. It was Demeter. Her and the Shiker. Never you or Aji or-" He paused for a moment, and his mouth pulled in strange ways before he managed, "-or Kay. Or Dad. And Mom…" the locket thudded, swinging at the end of the chain in her hand. "Mom didn't… know what to do. I think she gave up."

"You didn't." It was like a coal burning in the pit of her stomach. "Arthur didn't. Vivi didn't. Even Kay didn't, and Aji went swinging. Mom gave up." Each word tasted like a different poison.

Lewis' head swiveled around, taking in the maze around him. "Yeah. She gave up. But I really get why she didn't want you here, now. If she knew Demeter, she probably had seen this place in action herself."

Dulcie ground her forehead against his shoulder, her brow furrowed hard. "It's not fair. None of it."

One of her pigtails was jerked, but not too hard. "Hey. I know that better than anyone. But we've got what we've got, and right now that's a fighting shot. Let's try to keep what we've got, okay?" He began walking again. "And, for the record? I'm not sorry I got to be part of this family. Not at all."

….

Water dripped between his lips, and he swallowed reflexively. The parts the water touched were the only parts of his body he could feel.

 _What is your name?_

He had nothing left to laugh with. His enemy's former taunt was now a desperate and sincere question knocking around in his mind. He had a name, but it didn't matter.

 _It matters! I am not dying here, not yet! You do not get to leave until I take you!_

He sighed, his breath dragging painfully up and out his throat. It didn't matter. Everything was dry, too dry. Nothing left but ashes.

Water, again. He swallowed, unable to stop himself. It didn't really matter, but the water was cool and sweet.

"That's some stunt you pulled out there, Kingsmen."

He nearly choked on the water. _Aji_ was the one giving him water?

"Calm your fur. Hades is pretty intent on you waking up. He wants what you've got."

He screwed his eyes shut tighter, sinking in on himself. He didn't care. Didn't care about anything anymore.

 _That's only our exhaustion, Puppet. You care quite a bit, and it's the only thing keeping us alive. Use it! And retract what you said to Hades about executing us!_

"Not to push you, or anything, but he's kind of impatient about it."

He resented the water that reminded him he had a body. He resented the Shiker for not letting him crumble apart and blow away like dust.

Aji sighed and the water stopped. "I don't want to do this, Kingsmen. But you have to get up." He heard her take a deep breath and _your hand flies up, catching her about the throat as your eyes open. You barely have anything left, but you refuse to be tied to one more siren song. Your grip tightens and she chokes, sinking talons into your arm. You throw her back with one warning growl._

"Have. Kay's. Voice." His voice was the barest string of sound. "Immune… anyway. Stop."

"Not sure if you're talking to me or having a little existential chat with yourself over there," Aji rasped, "but it would be great if you got up, okay? Hades says the only reason we're not in some eternal punishment loop is because you have information for him."

Maybe that was the only way to finish it, then. Offer Hades the information he needed and welcome death. No more struggling against a fate he couldn't beat. No more coming up against wall after insurmountable wall. No more fighting to hold onto who he was.

 _Not good enough! Survive!_

The Shiker was weak, too. Barely holding him together. Shinker couldn't hold them together _and_ fight his intentions. What the Shiker wanted no longer mattered. He raised himself on his one arm, weaving, and forced his eyes open.

A small chamber of red rock, only a dozen feet across and deep. More of an alcove than a room, lit by… actually he could not tell where the lighting was coming from. Aji crouched on the opposite side, an elaborate wrought metal goblet spilled on its side nearby. Grateful to be near a wall, he leaned against it, turning to the open space beyond the alcove.

The space outside the alcove was pitch black. It was as if a line divided their chamber from everything else and did not allow light to escape. The only exception to the darkness was Hades, who stood just outside their chamber. No light came from him, but he appeared in perfect visibility, like a cut-out against the inky black. Hades' skin, his robes, and the weapons in his belt were all iron. On his wrist perched the golden bird from before. It shifted often, but did not leave him.

"You claimed you have information." Hades words were level. "Persephone pleads for you. There are very few threads bearing you up from punishment. What have you come to tell me?"

He opened his mouth, but his tongue lay still.

Hades rose, crossing into the chamber and gripping his face. "You attacked my pet and entered my realm trailing the drained souls of many dozens of subjects who can never properly rest now. You will answer me."

And kite strings began to slip away from the edge of his mind. Deadbeats filled the chamber, shrieking as they chased each other in a whirlwind of pink. Hades released him, opening his hand to the ghosts. The Deadbeats dived for him, each plummeting into the palm of his hand before vanishing. None were left behind, and as the burden on his mind lifted, he seized the strength to answer.

"Demeter. Demeter… curses."

Hades' face angled harshly. "Yes, she curses my name every chance she gets. Is this what you have come to tell me?"

"Curses… you."

"Often, yes, we just established this."

He groaned. He didn't have the strength to explain the literal nature of Demeter cursing Hades. Apathy retook the ground he'd gained and he slumped back. The bird on Hades' wrist wriggled, and this close He saw strings tied to its legs, strings held tight in Hades' hand.

"Kingsmen." Aji's urgency drew his attention. "You saying what I think you're saying? Like she cursed us?"

He managed to raise one thumb up.

Aji spun back to Hades. "Your majesty… lordship… sir. He means a real curse, sir. She's already put a curse on my whole family, and he means she intends to curse you."

Hades turned those fiery gemstone eyes on Aji, assessing her. "You, who come to this creature's aid. You are not one of the three sirens, I can only surmise you are a descendant. You are the second descendant to come to my realm, and the fourth siren, but the only murderer." He leaned forward. "What does a murderer come to tell me about another's ill intent?"

Aji ducked her head, but he dragged his mind into focus, the Shiker as intent as he on this information.

 _Two sirens flung themselves to rocks, leaving only Teles. They are here._

Aji is the fourth siren to come here. The third… the third…

"Kay!" He croaked, struggling against the wall. "You have Kay! You… have…"

The golden bird on Hades wrist beat its wings, beak open in a silent cry as it lunged from atop his wrist, but could not leave.

 _No! I will not be bound by her! Not ever again!_

Against the Shiker's railing, he plunged his hand down his own throat, drawing out the strains of siren song wound around his vocal cords. He clapped his hand to the side of the bird's head.

The song slipped into the open beak of the bird, thrashing against Hades' bonds, and the room filled with a single name sung over and over.

"Arthur! Arthur! Arthur!"

And Arthur laid his head back and wept.

…..

 **Note:** Hey, sorry for the long pause. End of the year is a hard time. Doing what I can when I can. But I've definitely been looking forward to this chapter since… well, probably partway into Things We Lost. Chapter Title excerpted from The Cave by Mumford and Sons.


	22. Refresh My Broken Mind

Oh Arthur. How long?

His hair is shot through with silver and there are lines on his face where there weren't before. He is barely a husk of himself. How did he come to this? How long has it been?

I remember choking. Drowning. And then a voice. He called with my voice, and I woke and answered.

And now my voice is returned and I sing.

I sing for the man trapped with the monster. I see you. I see you both, and you are not the same. A scourge and a lash for the beast, a comfort and consolation to the man. I divide you, drive you apart with the knowledge of who you are.

Arthur. My Arthur.

The beast has drained him so, he cannot even move. I spread my wings at the end of Hades' hand and pour all my music into his withered soul.

The beast rails within Arthur, and terrible words pour out of his mouth. I shut them out, drowning his oaths with such a song as I have never given before. Sorrow burdens the tones, that I bind Arthur to myself in ways neither man or gods can break, but I will not have this creature overtake him.

Not my Arthur.

He came for me.

He found me.

My song is guidance. Freedom. The light that drives back the dark.

And his eyes, a terrible frozen green, begin to melt again. The cursing ceases. The tears resume. Those warm, brown eyes are on me. _So tired_ , they say. _So very, very tired._

And the hand below me releases, the strings slipping away. I have crossed the distance in the heartbeat I no longer have, landing on Arthur's arm. Up to his shoulder. Burrowed in the crook of his neck.

My song is softer now, gentle by his ear. It is rest. It is healing. It is 'safety' and 'home' and 'never again alone.'

And I craft a new song, though it is not to Arthur, it is to the one behind me. Hades.

I sing of a man who threw himself into hell for friends in danger. Who trapped hell within himself to keep them safe. I sing of the man who refused to give up and run away when it kept getting worse. I sing of his voice and arms as the last things I knew in life, and his voice as the first thing I woke to in death.

He has given so much.

What more has he suffered that I do not yet know?

Do not, I plead, send this man away alone.

In any way, in any form, let me stay with him.

Please.

But when I look up, Hades is gone.

…..

The music.

Gods, her voice.

She was so very, very careful before. But now I can take it. I am no longer fully human, and I have carried that voice myself. I can listen and live, and it is a flood of life and breath.

The Shiker rages, impotent oaths and vile words with no power. It isn't me, Kay. I would never say these things. But he know what is happening.

So do I.

And by every god there is I welcome this.

Kay. There's no one I would trust more with my life. No one I would trust more to keep me contained.

It is not slavery if it is chosen.

It is not servitude if it is embraced.

She is with me, vaporous feathers at my face and neck, the song soft in my ear, filling every dry, cracked, and riven place in me.

Kay. I found you. And if I have to bring down the whole immortal realm, I will have you back. I swear.

…...

Vivi spent the crossing glaring holes in the boatman's shoulders as they rolled with every stroke that dragged them across the river. The churning white subsided within a few inches of his vessel, resuming on the other side. She wondered what kind of churning would happen if he were to accidentally fall in.

She tried to remind herself that pitching a mythological figure into a death-river was probably a bad idea, even if he _did_ demand Lewis' little gray box off her in payment. Gold, he claimed, had a certain unmistakable smell.

Lucky for him, Teles was right about him taking passengers for a song. Not that Vivi could hear it, of course, with Mystery's hands vice-clamped to the sides of her head.

"Could you pole any slower?" Vivi muttered under her breath, wincing as Mystery tweaked her ear hard. It wasn't just being in the boat with this creep that was getting to her, it was the delay in finding Squire. No telling what sort of trouble he'd gotten himself into.

Foot by agonizing foot, they crossed the river. The second Mystery's grip loosened, Vivi leaped for shore, barely clearing the water. "If I didn't know any better," she growled, "I'd say you went slower halfway through."

"If I did not know better," Charon rasped back, "that marked the time a passenger criticised the speed of travel." He lifted a hand. "Fare well, Teles. Such a song will be nourishment for many ages. Young foal, take care to heal yourself further. You will not be at full strength until that horn is restored. And inform my Master, he will assist you. And you." He pointed at Vivi. "Any further passage will require gold. See you are buried with it, or your purgatory ashore will double when it comes your time to pass."

Vivi blew her bangs out of her eyes, trying to keep hold of her tongue. "Right. Are we done? I'm pretty sure Squire and Aji need us yesterday!"

Chloe sidled up to her. "True, Vivi-chan! So, um…" Awkwardly, she knelt, knobby knees pressing into the rocks. "Gomen, I don't know if I'm doing it right."

Vivi blinked. "Seriously?"

"We need speed." Teles grabbed Chloe's withers and swung herself up. "Unless you have a better idea."

Mystery stretched his body, shaking his tails free. "I will take Vivi."

"Chottomatte!" Chloe protested.

"I will take Vivi because you've never carried one, much less two. You still need to adjust to your form and its limits." Mystery knelt, and Vivi swung up to his neck.

"Kenka uttenno ka?" Chloe rose to stand, her lips pulled tight and ear laid back.

"Chloe, please." Vivi reached out a hand, brushing the side of her friend's face. "We need to get there as fast as possible."

Chloe whuffled, subsiding.

And then she was gone. The whole countryside was gone, or rather, was now a continuous blur, and Vivi's fingers spasmed to claw-grips on instinct. It wasn't quite like flying, there was too much of an up and down rhythm to it, but if there was such a thing as ground flying, she was certainly doing it. Or, rather, Mystery was.

"Maaaaatteeeeee!"

A steady, pounding beat came alongside and a white blur joined them, nearly neck and neck with Mystery. She'd have to ask for another run from Mystery again someday, maybe when she wasn't so worried about Squire and could actually enjoy it.

After a while, the blur became landscape again as Mystery slowed. Red, barren desert, save for a trail of wildflower growth leading to a cavern opening. At the opening stood a column of a woman, tall and blond with green eyes. Crouched by her feet, a dog to rival Mystery's size. One head lay on its forepaws, asleep. One nudged the woman's hand for a pet. The third watched their approach, ears perked.

Mystery stopped a good distance from the dog, who sprang to its feet and growled. The woman put her hands to its neck, kneading the fur there without taking her eyes off them.

Vivi slid down from Mystery. "You! Have you seen Squire-Arthur? He's a little taller than me, missing an arm, blond hair, his eyes change color and he's two people sometimes."

The woman didn't move. She was no longer looking at Vivi. She tapped the dog's middle head, and the beast turned and sprinted back into the cavern.

"Uh, hello? I know you're not exactly mortal but it's kind of rude to ignore-"

"Teles. You are alive." The words crossed the distance with on a sharp breeze. Brambles curled protectively around the woman's feet, saw-toothed thorns jutting out. "Why are you here? It isn't your time."

"And you would know, wouldn't you, bride of Hades?" Teles stepped forward. "How are my sisters, Persephone? They are here, are they not? What did they have to tell you about their deaths?"

Persephone's eyes flicked away, the brambles unspooling in a widening circle. Mystery ducked his chin over Vivi's shoulder, drawing her back. "This is beyond you. Please, hold your peace for now."

Unnerved by the anxiety in his voice, Vivi held his snout in her hands and kept quiet.

"Did they tell you they were flightstripped?" Teles' fists swung like pendulums in short arcs by her waist as she advanced. "Did they tell you what it was like to hit the rocks and spill their brains into the sea? Did you bother to ask why only two of them succeeded and one failed to appear in your realm, or were you too occupied with your new status as Queen of the Underworld?"

"Stay back!" Persephone threw out her arms, the brambles surging up in a wall that encircled her just as Teles came in reach.

"You knew I lived!" Teles railed, slashing at the brambles with her talons. "If not for me, you would have no respite from her at all. I found you both just as she asked, and though I turned a blind eye, this is my reward? You abandoned us to your mother!"

Steel hands caught Teles by the wrists, and she laughed, twisting around. "And you. The god of the Underworld. Their blood is on you." She turned her face, staring full into the glinting eyes fixed on her. "Every subject prematurely sent here. See them. Count them. But where were you? You could have come for me, stopped me! _Where were you?_ "

"Zeuss forbade travel to the mortal realm for a good reason," Hades hissed, twisting her wrists. "That Demeter chose to break this law is none of my concern. My concern is healing the damage she does to my wife, not the affairs of the lesser immortals."

Teles' knees buckled as her wrists bent, but she kept her neck stiff. "You're afraid of her, aren't you? But it is your business now. Demeter desecrated a sacred herd."

Hades' head jerked up, and Chloe dropped her head, shuffling closer to Vivi. Releasing Teles, Hades stretched his hands toward Chloe, the steel color of his fingers fading to soft gold. "Child, is this true?"

"Go!" Vivi nudged her. "Tell him."

"Vivi-chan…" Chloe whimpered.

"Go, Chloe." Mystery nudged her firmly with his nose. "Your herd can't, you must."

Ears drooping, Chloe slunk forward, tail dragging along the ground. Hades held his hands out and she laid her muzzle, hesitantly, into them. His fingers traced up her jawline and around to her forehead, resting just below the jagged stump of a horn there. "What has Demeter done to you?"

Chloe stammered, "H-heika, this is all very new, but I think the one you're talking about is the one that s-stole my horn. And she did this to my herd. Also. They're gone… from s-s-aving me..."

"You think? Child, this charge is deadly serious. You must be sure."

Chloe's eyes welled up. "I never saw her until she came t-t-to get Dulcie. But I think sh-she's the one that made the monster hurt me."

"Monster?"

"The monster in Vivi-chan's best friend, Arthur-san." Chloe's tail swished. "W-we heard him calling. Please, Heika. I was a human girl as long as I remember, until I wasn't. I heard all the reasons why it happened to me and what it was for but I still don't get it." Her voice squeaked. "Gomenasai. Gomenasai, Heika. Arthur-san knows why b-because of the monster with him."

Vivi swallowed, wishing she could loan a measure of brashness to her friend.

Hades turned to the bramble-cage and began to unwind the branches. He worked until he had untwisted an opening. Persephone stood precisely in the middle. The color had gone out of her skin, and even her hair seemed grayer. Her eyes stared fixedly ahead and her lips moved, soundless. Hades carefully drew her out of the brambles, winding one arm around her waist and taking her hand in his.

"Teles, you and the kitsune will follow, but keep your distance. Vivi."

A frozen sheet of iron to the skin would have been lesser shock than hearing her name from his mouth. "Y-yes?"

"You will accompany…" He gazed at Chloe once again, before continuing, "Your friend, Chloe, close behind me. Your friend, Arthur, has a great deal of explaining to do."

….

 **Note:** I live, I swear. Chapter title excerpted from The Cave by Mumford and Sons. Also, I did some brainstorming with ivy-basley-ushi that is going to help me with a major plot point in the next fic. I wanted to thank them NOW because I know by the time I get there' there's a good chance I'm going to goldfish entirely. But thank you for the help finding the Horae! They are what I need… also thanks to the admin of The Rise and Fall of Nickelodian FB page for late night "DOES THIS REALLY WORK" prodding.


	23. It's Time To Start The Countdown

_For this treachery, Puppet, I should leave you to flail along by yourself. You can't move with no energy. You have one arm. You could not get so much as a word out without me now, not after your little gift to the Firstborn. If my existence didn't still depend on you… but what is the use repeating myself. Know this, Puppet. For what you have done, I will not walk out peacefully when the time comes. You place far too much faith in the Firstborn. When I take control-and I will win this, Puppet-I will make you watch them suffer. All of them._

 _Your eyes open. You are not sure how much time has passed, but Hades is no longer there. The Second one crouches, face turned to the wall. Shame and grief ekes off her. Disgusting._

 _The she-beast of a Firstborn shrieks in your ear a tearing song meant to drive us apart, but the Puppet has need of me, and by his own permission I stand my ground._

 _By sheer force of will you do not shove her from your shoulder. "The Puppet would have me speak for him, since your voice is now returned to you. Of all people, you should recall that he can no longer speak without invoking me."_

For a moment, Arthur rolled his head to rest against Kay's side, his cheeks straining with joy. He'd found her. She pressed her forehead to his. Her soul was graceful. Beautiful. And powerful. He could sense the strength of the spirit pressed to the side of his face and wished he could tell her.

 _"Would that I could drink you dry, and your power would be mine."_

 _You are horrified, but all of us know who is speaking. Look at her, drawing back. That fire in her eyes. She knows it was not you, cease your futile anger, Puppet. We are too joined now for it to give me pleasure anymore._

 _"It is unwise to threaten my subjects, even in my absence."_

 _There he stands, god of the underworld. On one side stands the fruit of your Mistress' womb looking marvelously ashen-faced. And on the other side of him that cursed blue wretch. Her fists clench and her eyes are flint on you. Oh yes, she knows who is speaking as well. An oversized foal cowers behind her. It is comical, the very picture of an oafish giant trying to hide behind a stopsign._

 _"You laughing at something, you knuckle-lidded cactus dweller?" she hisses. "Cause the only one that's welcome to talk around here is Squire, and he doesn't threaten innocent bystanding spirits."_

 _"Look at her, Firstborn, she doesn't even know, you" you mock. "But why would she, she's not the one madly in love with and_ enslaved _to you, is she, Cayenne?"_

 _No, Puppet. You desire me to speak for you, and I will speak. It is my time._

 _Vivi's eyes widen, her mouth loosening. Struck dumb, thank the gods, she is most grating._

 _"Sugoiiiiiiiiiiii! Now Vivi-chan isn't the only one with a dead love unable to let go and pass on, Arthur-sama your luck has changed!"_

 _Retraction, Vivi is the second most grating. "Say one more word and I will carve a hole in your skull so large and deep that-"_

Arthur's head lolled back as music flooded his ear once more. He was Arthur. How was it so easy to forget? Was this going to be the way it was, always? A rapid cycle of forgetting and remembering? Chloe, he'd threatened Chloe. He clapped a hand over his mouth, his eyes wide. He couldn't even apologize to the oversized foal, now cowering belly to the ground.

"Arthur did not say that." Kay's words spilled over him like balm. "He cannot speak for himself, please excuse him. He returned my voice to me, and now only the monster speaks."

Hades' colors shifted between gold and slate iron. "Why have you emerged now?" he asked. "I have been with your body since the Moirai brought you here, unable to cut your thread. Was I not welcoming enough? Gentle enough? It is my duty to bring to to your rest, child. Why would you not emerge from your body?"

Kay ducked her head. "Lord Hades, forgive me. But I did not hear your voice. The first voice I heard, and the first I flew to, was the one that called to me. It was a battle cry, Lord Hades, but one that knew it was lost. One that needed my help."

Arthur's vision blurred, his throat clogged with the words he couldn't speak.

"Their threads are too tangled," came a complaint from farther into the darkness, beyond Arthur's range of vision. It sounded suspiciously like one of the figures that had taken Kay. "It was not his time, and hers would not sever."

Hades' eyes shifted to Arthur, and he shrank from the gaze. This was beyond nakedness, the god of the underworld could see the blood on his hands, those he-and the Shiker-had sent to this realm too soon.

"If there is a monster that speaks for him, how do I know to trust what he says?"

 _You lift your chin, staring just above Hades' head so you do not directly meet that gaze. "Because I am not the sort to relish being controlled, and Demeter has my name."_

Call him by his title at least! He has to want to listen to us!

 _Your teeth grind together. "Demeter has my name_ Lord Hades." _Persephone flinches and Hades does not move. "It was she who ordered that I engage your precious pet. The Puppet was clever enough to keep his own name hidden from her, but what good is that? We cannot pull the same trick again, and when she has his name too she will have us in full. And she will order the release of his name from me on our return."_

 _"You have not yet convinced me that I can trust what you say."_

 _You bite back a snarl. "You waste time. If I said my purpose was to free the family she cursed and save your realm from her rule, you would know it was a lie. That is not my purpose, that is the Puppet's purpose, though he cares nothing for your realm. This family, this family, it is always this family!" The cords in your neck stand out, your face flushing with fury. "I am rendered a corpse for the sake of this family!"_

 _You take a breath to calm yourself. Their silence presses in on you. "My purpose is simple. I want freedom from Demeter. It is purely self-interest, Lord Hades, which is something you can hardly argue is against the nature of a monster such as myself."_

 _"And can this Arthur verify your claim?" he asks._

Arthur swallowed, hoping there was some indication it was him as he wobbled his head in a nod.

"His eyes, Lord Hades." Kay brushed a wing across his face. "Watch his eyes, and you will see."

"I see."Hades sounded weary now, with silver robes and warm, gold face, fingers massaging his temples like the mother of all brass bands was blatting around his ears. "Proceed. But pray your story can be verified by other accounts I have already heard, monster. Arthur has already asked for release from this life."

Arthur swallowed cringing back into the wall and resting his head against Kay.

 _"He did this because he thought the one that could control him, Cayenne, lost forever," you spit, trembling for the helpless bitterness of it all. You must ask for her back or risk Hades taking your life. "And now he would retract it because he is not leaving without her."_

 _Hades lifts a hand, and one of the robed figures steps out of the darkness. Its arms cradle Kay's body, her neck torn open from several holes, eyes open and mouth agape. Grief stabs your chest, but you steel yourself._

 _The second born cries in anguish. This we can agree on, Puppet. She deserves this moment._

 _"She will not be leaving with you," Hades says, as if this is obvious._

 _You laugh, shaking your head. "Lord Hades, there is precious little that would compel me to contradict a god outright, but I would prefer we not spend our energies rending this plane of existence and, trust me, the Puppet will find a way. He has ways of circumventing the most… ah. We almost forgot." You turn your attention back to Vivi, eyes narrowed. "We smuggled a guard in with the youngest child when she was cursed to live in the Cage. You were to find her, why are you here?"_

 _Persephone's fingers fly to her mouth and her teeth sink into them. Hades removes his cloak, now patterned in diamond and emerald, wrapping it around her and pulling her hands free of her mouth._

 _You sigh. Persephone must be well acquainted with the Cage. "To be brief, I have been cultivating curses for hundreds of years at the request of your most beloved Mother-in-Law. Her first curse landed on the family of Teles, the siren, destroying the lives of her children. Only recently has it reached its completion, and Demeter never informed me why I was creating more curses, only what ingredients I was to use." Your tongue runs along your teeth. "Imagination milked from the mind of a broken child. Unicorn horn for longevity, ensuring the proper delivery without escape. Incubated in the soul gem of a Kitsune. She has dozens of these curses, and the Puppet believes that if one was enough to curse an entire family, she who is the model of order and perfection would not order more than is needed. She must be planning to curse a god. Perhaps even more than one." You lift your chin, grinning with a perverse pride. "He is a smart one, I must say. And unnaturally determined for a mortal."_

 _"Heika," the unicorn whimpers, "I don't remember having a full horn, ever. There's always been a hole in my forehead and visits to the doctor."_

 _"She knows now. There was only ever me. Different faces, but always the same. Extract the horn, bind her forehead, send her away."_

 _She hides her face in Vivi's shoulder. If you were not one with her best friend, Vivi would take you in hand to hand combat whether she would survive or not, you can read it on her face._

 _"Arthur has been pushing and investigating for months." There is Teles, now, but she is turning from one daughter to the other and back again. "Cayenne. I thought I would find you here. Some things in the story, they didn't quite…" she looks over at the body. You can see the wheels turning in her mind. "...line up."_

 _Neither daughter speaks. In fact, they have not spoken to each other once, have they? Well, if their mother connects the death of one daughter to the other, Puppet, I will not contradict her, and this is my time. You will be silent._

 _Persephone sags against Hades. Rust flecks his face and, for once, he is staring groundward._

 _"She has forced my hand." Hades says. "With her attack, small though it is, she has breached a boundary and an agreement, and it must be brought before Zeuss to mediate."_

 _You laugh softly as your pieces click together. "And why not wipe out both Zeuss and Hades so none can interfere with the reclamation of her precious daughter. No wonder she ordered a bountiful crop."_

 _The rust spreads as Hades sees the trap before his feet. It is beautifully laid and he cannot back out, and he cannot accuse Demeter, no doubt, until she has the curses in hand. By that point, it is too late._

 _But it is not, is it, Puppet?_

 _Oh. Puppet. This thought. This plan. It is delicious. Were I not already part of you, I just might fear you. "Lord Hades, I see no reason for your despair. We have already conceived a plan. We-" the cavern tilts and you land facedown. Not even the strength to sit upright anymore. Feathers flutter frantically around your head._

 _A voice breaks through the dizziness. "Lord Hades. I know I am not welcome near, but my kin's gift taxes his body. Please, permit me a hunt. He needs to feed to restore himself."_

Mystery, you get all the treats in the world.

 _"There is no need for a hunt." The ground below you shifts, and your body moves. Or is the ground below you moving? You leave the cell and you find the darkness beyond it is not dark at all. It was an illusion or a trick of the barrier, but now all around you is light. You are too weak to lift your head and look, though several pairs of feet are in view._

 _"Squire!"_

 _You sigh, disgusted at the display of affection that envelops you in blue. "He wishes you to know that you have been missed, though you were supposed to go find the youngest."_

 _"Yeah, well, someone who knows the lay of the land better took the reins of the mission, and she said it was more important to find Persephone and Hades."_

Maybe this will work for us. By Persephone's reaction, she knows the Cage pretty personally. Maybe she knows a way in and out.

 _We are no longer moving, though we are still propped up against Vivi. Our vision swims into focus, and there is food. A banquet of baked hen and seared fish and whole roast swine and your jaw unhinges at the sight before you._

 _Time to regain our strength._

….

 **Note:** I'm really sorry for the gaps, guys. I'm struggling with a lot of exhaustion and burnout. I love this story, I'm not giving it up. It's just getting a little harder to sit down and work on it lately. Also chapter title is excerpted from Funhouse by P!nk


	24. Dreaming of Tearing You Apart

"Vivi-chan?"

Vivi watched Arthur fall on the feast, her stomach turning as whole roast fowl and limbs from larger carcasses vanished down his throat. This wasn't downing multiple rounds of his favorite pizza. There was a desperate, animal starvation behind his movements.

Her vision blurred, and she lifted her glasses to wipe her eyes. A soft muzzle poked at her left cheek and a furry head butted up under her right hand. "There's gotta be a way to fix this. Mystery, tell me there's a way to fix this."

"Which 'this'?" he asked. "I've lost count of the things that need fixing right now."

"Squire. We gotta be able to get that thing outta him."

"That thing is dead." Mystery watched the feast, glum. "Arthur is Arthur whether he thinks he is at any given time or not. Removing the remnants of my kin from his body is beyond my skill."

"But not beyond someone's skill?" she persisted. "Someone could do it?"

"Perhaps, but now is not the time to discuss such matters."

"Vivi-chan," Chloe whickered by her ear, "Look. Look at Heika."

"What gallforsaken anime graveyard did you have to dredge for that honorific?" Vivi groaned, turning to see the last thing she expected.

On a short, flat-topped rock sat Persephone. Or, at least, it looked like the very image of Persephone, carved in cold marble. Hades smoothed his hands over the head and around under the chin, pressing a kiss to the lips before facing Vivi. "This situation has caused her great distress. Sealing off her senses in stone gives her some comfort. She is safe and cannot be touched or found by her mother. Not while she is in my realm." Cerberus padded in, settling his hindquarters next to his mistress and laying all three heads on her lap.

Vivi fingered the box in her pocket. "Okay, I'm guessing I don't know the full story here, because the tale I was pitched in highschool was that you kidnapped your lady love and tricked her into eating your food so that she'd be forced to spend time with you."

Hades gave a grim smile. "We are not to meddle in the mortal realm anymore, but even so, Demeter has always had more access on the mortal realm than I. No doubt she altered a few choice details."

"Many choice details. The child of Demeter has eyes that have seen things that should not be seen." Arthur slumped back, the ground before him bare and the ragged remains of his toga smeared with grease. The feast was gone. "It seems beyond her great and imperial Majesty to greatly injure her own offspring, but well placed minor injuries, perhaps, and strict instruction from greater horror inflicted on captives. Perhaps, a special view from within her mother's very own Cage." He stretched, sighing in satisfaction. "Only guesses, great Lord Hades, but she taught me remarkably well. Breaking humans came quite easily under Demeter's tutelage."

Vivi ground her teeth, bits and fragments of Lewis' pain tearing through her memories.

"One thing she didn't show me, though, was how to cast the curses she requested." A grin flashed over his face. "What do you say, mother bird, mother bird? I was sent away after stripping you, like a good little dog. How did she cast it?"

But there was no response from Teles. She stood as still as Persephone sat, hands hung at her sides. Vivi moved toward her, hesitant. Even if it wasn't Arthur's best side asking, a question like that meant there was information he needed to put together a plan. "Mrs. Pepper?" She put a hand on Teles' arm. "Mrs. Pepper, we need to know."

"I want my daughter back." Only Teles' lips moved, not even an eyelid flickering as she responded. "For all I have already done for you, Hades, and all I have suffered, I demand my daughter, or I will deliver you no more information."

"Well said!" Arthur smacked one hand down on the ground, his eyes still a cold green. "It seems the god of the underworld has racked up a few debts over time."

Small steel spikes prickled all over Hades' form. "Siren, your suffering was not my fault. Take up your case with Demeter."

"Demeter sent me to find her daughter. Gave me and my sisters wings to find her daughter. And I found you. My sisters didn't find you, _I found you_. You were still in her realm, barely shielded from her senses. One call, Hades, and I could have brought all her fury down on you. I am owed for turning my head!"

"One would hardly call what you did a debt to be repaid!" Hades snarled. "You were Persephone's companions, all of you, but not one of you lifted a finger against her mother. You stood by and watched what was done to her in the name of perfection!"

"You, a god, barely able to wrest Persephone away yourself, would decry a lesser immortal for being unable to? My choice cost me all and gave you everything!" Teles turned and dropped to her knees at the statue's feet. Cerberus growled, but Teles wrapped her hands around Persephone's marbled ankles, pleading. "If we ever were truly companions, Persephone, I beg for my daughters' lives. Both the one carried here and the one in your mother's Cage. Have I not suffered enough?"

Vivi held her breath. The ground under Teles' knees softened with lush, green growth dotted with tiny white blooms. Moss crept up the statue's legs, and as Cerberus pulled his heads away, Vivi spied a tangle of aqua-blue and purple hyacinth spread between the stone-coated hands laid, palms down, on Persephone's lap.

Hades turned on Arthur, his shoulders set and his eyes burning. "You will first tell me what plan you have to bring down Demeter."

"Only a fool lays a plan without all the pieces, and the Puppet is no fool-save when he is pushed to the edge." Arthur's chin jutted out toward Teles. "First we must know how the curse was planted. Every detail. And you already know the price for that."

"A price you are not averse to enjoying for yourself," Hades growled.

At that, Arthur's eyes changed to brown. He planted his hand on the ground, making a scribbling motion. The stone beneath him turned to sand and he scrawled out large letters on the ground. Vivi backed up, angling her head to read what Hades now turned from, cringing. An echo of Teles' cry that made her chest ache.

 **Have we not suffered enough?**

Mystery ducked his head with a low whine. Hades clasped his hands behind his back, studying the wall as he spoke to Arthur. "You may yet destroy her, do you understand? The one you claim to care so much for. If I release her to either the claim of her mother or your claim, you may yet destroy her because of what has been done to you."

Arthur faltered, his eyes dropping. Vivi crossed her arms. "He would never. If you think he's capable of that, you don't know Squire. You don't know how strong he is, and he'd be even stronger for Kay. I know it." Vivi knew no such thing, she had no inkling of how hard it had to be for Squire, but fig newton's third law take her if she wasn't going to bluff some confidence back into him.

Hades glanced at her. "Your intentions are honorable, Vivi. But good intentions are not enough to prevent the worst. As it is, Cayenne has come to my realm and is under my authority, and if she leaves and harm befalls her soul then that harm is my responsibility. Understand that I would be releasing her to the care of a mind drinker, a murderer, and her killer."

Teles did not move from her supplicant position, and there was no sound from Aji.

A soft chuckle broke Arthur's lips, green eyes alight with amusement. "So, your honor overturns the 'not guilty' plea. What then, Second Born?"

"Mom," Aji began, "Mom, it wasn't my-"

"Do not call me that." Teles rose to her feet, never turning. "You are not my daughter. Lord Hades, will you return to me what has been lost?"

Hades eyed Aji, but Vivi couldn't read his expression. He stretched his hand out to Kay, who left Arthur's shoulder and lighted on the offered wrist. "Child, you will have to guard yourself every moment from that beast, and restoring you to life may not free you from the effects of the curse laid on you. Is this what you wish?"

And Kay spread her wings, dipping her head in submissive plea. "I do."

With a sigh, Hades conceded, "If you can pay the price to restore one lost, I will permit it once Demeter has been overthrown."

"Another price?" Arthur groused. "I thought we paid with the plan and information."

"You pay for my consent only. You cannot raise the dead on a mere wish," Hades snapped. "There is always a cost."

Arthur's hand swiped the sand clear and dug out more letters.

 **What about Lewis?**

Vivi swallowed. Good old Squire. How was that hotheaded fireball doing, anyway? It was stupid how much she missed him, given she still couldn't remember him right.

Hades' eyes narrowed. "The man whose blood is on your hands. His soul never entered my realm and even if it had, I could not restore him to you. Cayenne's body has been here only a short time. She is not fully mortal and the Moirai yammer _still_ that they cannot cut her thread. She can still be salvaged. But his body has been in the ground these many months and is only mortal flesh. His thread has been cut. He can never return. Now. Teles. Your tale."

Teles closed her eyes, spreading her arms wide. Talons pierced through her fingertips and a dark, bony wing structure spread from each hand, with no more than a few stunted pinions on each. "The goddess gave us wings to search, and after three years of our search she discovered what I had done, and how she would have to share her daughter. She took my sisters and I to the mortal realm, to a small island where we were handed over to a cruel fox spirit. Our wings were plucked and mauled, that they would scar so badly we could never regrow them and escape our prison."

Nausea rolled through Vivi at the self-satisfied smirk on Arthur's face.

"He was sent off on some errand as we lay bleeding on the ground and Demeter stood over me. Not either of my sisters, only me. She held some bright red jewel and she placed it in my hand, saying, ' _For failure, see your feathers stripped. Let all your children's fates be tipped. The early death of eldest son. The firstborn's mind to come undone. The second one to kill and rage. The third to live within my cage'_."

Her arms dropped, the talons and wing structure receding. "The jewel vanished, but a vine began to grow on me. My sisters could not see it and I could not rid myself of it. And when the hunger became too much and we flung ourselves against the rocks rather than call in ships of dead mortals, somehow I found the one place among the rocks where there was water to fall in. My sisters were dead, but I could not end my life, no matter how many times or ways I tried. The vine sustained my existence. And after many years of starvation…" She opened her eyes, her voice heavy. "I began to call the ships."

The grin was wide and crazed on Arthur's face. "The goddess is undone. Lord Hades, merely take me to your meeting with her, and her downfall is assured." His eyes returned to brown and he stretched out his hand to Kay, a near panicked look on his face.

Kay made to fly back, but Hades stilled her with a touch. "Not yet. There is more to this bargain than you, child, and while we are conducting business with Demeter, you are needed to save your youngest sister." His skin gleamed black obsidian for a moment. He stretched out the fingers of his right hand and, with his left, broke off the index finger. This he handed to Kay, who took it in her claws. "Take this to the Cage and touch any part of it to enter or exit. Also take the kitsune," and here he pointed to Mystery, "to guide you. I do not know exactly where the Cage lies, and I will not send Persephone, but he may smell your quarry. You may begin your search for the Cage as soon as we depart for Zeus' realm, to challenge Demeter."

"Does she expect you to go to Zeus' realm first?" Arthur drawled. "Is that the normal course of things here? Forgive me, I am a mere ignorant mortal."

Hades hesitated, and Arthur snorted. "If that is what is expected, then we are not going to Zeus' realm first. Send a message to him that he should come if he must be present. I am not going to enjoy this part, but beat me so that it looks like you have rightly punished me for attacking your pet. Then take me to Demeter's realm and challenge her there. From this moment on we do not give her a single inch."

...

 **Note:** This chapter gave me HECK. Remind me to quit making my cast too big to handle in a scene together. Chapter title excerpted from My Songs Know What You Did In The Dark by Fallout Boy.


	25. Won't You Let It Lie?

"Dulcie?"

Sea-blue eyes peeked up from under thick, cotton-candy curls. She sat in Lewis' lap, one of his arms hooked tight around her waist, the other bracing his position in the fork of a particularly spiked tree. The spikes didn't bother him, and with Dulcie on his lap they didn't touch her, but he didn't want to risk slipping up and dropping her. He maintained a skeletal appearance for now, the better to warn off would-be attackers.

"Yeah, Lewis?"

He was starting to worry about several things. It had been two days-or three? Sometimes he'd been too focused on finding their next spot to keep track-and no sign of Vivi. She was supposed to come get them. That was Arthur's plan. Had she been caught? If she had, was there another way out of here before Demeter returned with her pet Shiker? And, more immediately, where could he get food for Dulcie? They had the squished remains of half a tomato, but neither mentioned it no matter how loudly Dulcie's stomach growled. Both knew it was too valuable to spend on her hunger, especially if Lewis was taken from her. Water, thankfully, was no problem, though he had to be the one to gather moisture off the leaves of the ravenous hedge walls.

"Lewis?"

He'd started talking early that morning, partly to distract her from the hunger, partly to distract himself from mounting fears, and conversation had drifted to Kay. He wasn't surprised that Dulcie had little close interaction with Kay, it seemed each sister was more or less her own island, eying the others with longing or awe. It was no exception with Dulcie. Though Kay did little more than make some of her meals and help her get dressed when she was younger, her shadow stretched long in Dulcie's mind. She couldn't say enough about wanting to fly just like Kay when she finally fledged, though Aji was notably absent from Dulcie's fantasies.

"Leeeeewwwwwis."

Fingers dragged back and forth across his vision, and he heaved a sigh. "Dulcie, do you think if Kay was still…. Was still with us, that she could ever forgive me?"

Dulcie blinked. "For hurting Arthur?"

Lewis' skull sank toward his neck hole. "No. Dulcie… when I was mad at Arthur, I was also mad at Kay. It's complicated, and I was wrong. But I thought I was right, and because of that I hurt her." His skull sank into his chest cavity and he rested his forehead against his own ribs, unable to look Dulcie in the eyes. "I hurt her right where her biggest fear was. On purpose."

Silence.

"And after that, I said horrible things to her. By the time I realized I was wrong, she was dead and Arthur had a monster in him. And maybe if I wasn't so angry at them, Arthur would have figured out what he needed to know faster. But I didn't." He gave a soft laugh. "And Vivi thinks _she's_ the one that messed everything up."

There was a gentle knock on his chest. His skull rose back up to the neck hole, peeking out. Dulcie's solemn expression split into a smile when she saw him. "You look silly doing that. Big scary skeleton hiding from his little sister," she teased.

Lewis snorted. He probably did look ridiculous.

Her smile faded and she reached her arms up, hooking them around his empty collar. "You sorry for it?"

He hung his head. "With all my heart."

"Then she'd forgive you. You were the best brother, Lewis. We all knew it. That's why it was so bad when you were gone."

He tightened his arm around her waist, the corners of his eyes crinkling upward. "Thanks, Dulcie."

"When we get out of here, you're staying, right?" she asked.

He hesitated. He'd promised Vivi her memories back, all the originals. What would happen to him? Would he pass on, or would he become a Deadbeat without her recollections holding what was left of him together?

He fought off a flicker and tried to sound reassuring. "Let's get you through this and see what happens, Dulcie. One crisis at a time."

….

 _Your mouth spouts instructions but your heart isn't in it. Kay will be out of your sight. Out of reach if she needs you-or if you need her._

 _If it returns your focus at all, Puppet, there is nothing you could do for her that my kin cannot do. Mystery is the next best choice for companion. At this rate, we have no more power than he does anymore. We have spent it all because of your wretched limitations. Let her go. Your only chance of retrieving her hinges on accomplishing this mission._

 _I do not say this to soothe you, only to focus your damned thoughts. I am tired of dragging you back to task again and again._

 _Hades gestures to you and you rise to your feet. A moment of gratitude for the strength to stand. When have either of us found this as a lack? Only recently, and it is a horrifying thing to experience. Agreement, Puppet. There will be no complete shapeshifting unless the most dire need brings it on us, not ever again. The meat and bones of the feast are restorative, fueling every wracked and wrecked cell of this body, but there is a lasting toll. We both feel it._

 _"Arthur and Aji will come with me." Hades hands Kay off to Mystery. She perches on his back and begins grooming his ruff. His tongue lolls out, like a fool dog. Grunting, you follow Hades. You hear Aji's footfall, but you do not look at her._

 _"You say you want me to beat you, but you would not survive the force of punishment by a god," Hades says. It is not a challenge, merely a factual statement. Still, you prickle. "If you need to appear damaged, you should not turn to me."_

 _Now you understand why Aji has been called after you and why you are being drawn away from the others. Indeed, Chloe's shrill, chattering recap of what has just taken place is fading._

 _You have been far too engrossed in your exhaustion to take notice of the surroundings before. Rough rock tunnels behind but ahead it is smoothing, smoothing to marble, streaked with veins of red and gold that alternate pulses of light. The tunnel opens to a chamber just ahead and you wonder if that chamber has always been there or if Lord Hades makes it at his whim, as he has often changed the ground beneath you._

 _The chamber is unforgivingly lit from sheet-like walls of white quartz studded with white spinel gems and spikes of clear jasper and is there a single gem in this room that is not meant to blind us?_

 _And now Hades, with a face of cut diamond, steps back. There she is, the only other bit of color in the room. Head down. Fists clenched._

 _If we must be battered to sell this charade to Demeter, there is nothing else for it. At least we will survive a beating from a fifteen year old, even if she is about as strong as Lewis for her unearthly heritage._

 _Yet she does not advance. Gods, Puppet, must every single person be coaxed into what they should know needs to be done? You stalk right up to her, yank her chin up, and roar into her face. "Lewis would be ashamed of you!"_

 _The next moment, all you see is the ceiling. You can't feel your face very well yet, but that's a good indication of where she landed a blow. Yet it isn't followed up._

 _You rise on one arm, glaring at her. She has one hand wrapped around the wrist of the other. Talons out. Red feathertips poke through her skin. Her head is down again, eyes shielded by her hair. "I'm out," she mutters. "Get someone else to beat him senseless. I didn't sign up for this."_

 _The flowers growing from her wrists bleed fragrance, the red petal-tips staining scarlet deeper toward the yellow centers now. The vines caress her fingertips, and her fingers twitch in response._

 _A heavy feeling pools in your stomach, but now is not the time._

It's never 'the time,' is it? You never take a moment.

 _This must be done. You raise your head with a smirk. "Yes, why don't you just crawl off into the dark and find a hole to die in. After all, you don't really have a family anymore, do you?"_

 _The vines writhe frantically around her fingers and her chest hitches. "Stop."_

 _Fuel what already drives her to act. You lift a hand and raise fingers, one by one, chanting in a sing-song. "One I pushed over a ledge. One's heart I stole. One I took to another world." She takes one step toward you. "One's memories I erased." Her head snaps up, blue eyes rimmed and shot with red. "One will never, ever accept you again."_

 _She is on you, raking with talons and screaming. The skin over your vital organs and neck thickens like armor so she cannot kill you. Blow after blow, claw and fist and sometimes teeth. It feels like hours and all the time that terrible, endless wail._

 _Then she is spent. She slumps to the side, shuddering, stained with blood. Again. There is a satisfying symmetry to her bloodlust. I could not have dreamed how marvelously this bloom would use-_

Sorrow. Grief swept up from his gut, washing over the Shiker's thoughts and bringing Arthur back to the forefront. Everything hurt, but at least he could move. With painstaking care he rolled onto his side. Aji sprawled where she'd fallen, bawling so hard it choked her.

An image flashed through his mind. An arm with green skin striking Lewis' back, sending him careening over the edge.

Lingering resentment dropped away. Aji without the curse may have hated him forever, but she would never have tried to murder him. She had no more control over that than he had over pushing Lewis, and after that he had Uncle Lance, Vivi, Mystery, and Aji's whole family backing him up. Aji had none of them.

He couldn't decide if his sudden vision difficulty was caused by his own tears or by the effects of the beating. He stretched his hand toward her. The motion sent streaks of white across his sight, or was that just the quartz room? His fingers brushed her arm, now crowded with half-sprouted feathers.

A low groan left his mouth as he squeezed her arm. He wanted to say he got it. He understood. That he was sorry he hadn't been able to figure out her curse sooner. That he would find some way to fix this.

But he couldn't speak for himself. The Shiker didn't have the right to say any of those words. Even if he had both hands she didn't know sign language. He wasn't about to write in his own blood, there was no telling what sort of arcane binding that would have on him in a place like this. She wouldn't look at him.

A hand seized the back of his neck and lifted him off the ground. With his other hand, Hades offered an oddly carved chunk of diamond to Aji.

"Well done. And now, Aji, you must fly to my brother, Zeus. Carry this to him, that he may hear all I have heard."

Arthur made a face as he realized Hades was handing over his own ear. Could all gods break off pieces of themselves to send to other realms, or was it just Hades?

Aji dragged herself upright, refusing to look Arthur in the face, and accepted the ear. "How do I find him?" she rasped.

The ceiling split wide open. Overhead, the sun sweltered in a slate blue sky. "Up and out. Call on the Winds to guide you. They are well acquainted with your mother and aunts and will likely aid you. Hurry."

Aji reached full fledge as she crouched, then sprang up, beating the still air in the chamber. At first she seemed to make no headway, hanging a foot or two off the ground as she fought to rise.

Hades frowned. "Call on the winds."

"Winds!" she shouted, her voice hoarse. "Winds of the sea!"

"North, South, East, and West," Hades corrected.

"Winds of the sea!" she insisted. "Winds!"

And her wings caught on a current. It pulled her up through the split in the crystalline ceiling and out of sight. Arthur caught the faint scent of salt spray, his throat growing tight at the memories it stirred. Of course Aji would know them as sea winds, like one would call a friend by a nickname. They were probably the winds she and Kay flew with all the time. Only here, in this realm, they could help her. Were they the same spirits? Did certain spirits defy the sealing between realms simply because of the nature of air or, say, water?

"We must leave before you heal yourself." Hades turned, dragging him back down the hall. "Also, you promised me. Now explain. What is your remarkable plan?"

 _You mock at his blindness. "Isn't it obvious by now, Lord Hades? Demeter means to curse you and curse Zeus. So what do we do? We curse Demeter."_

….

 **Note:** I don't want to get hopes up, but those last couple chapters before this might have been major roadblock chapters for me (also in hard times) and now we're getting back into chapters where I'm more interested in what's happening again… also the chapter title is excerpted from Bad Blood by Bastille.


	26. Fate Stand Near Me

**Note:** Just a heads up. If you know Greek gods, you know that when dirty laundry gets aired, so do certain overly intimate family relations. Because that's what the Greek gods did, quite a bit. Chapter title excerpted from Fate by Trans Siberian Orchestra.

…..

 _There is no time for Vivi's distress over your state. No time for farewells with Kay. No time for advice from Mystery-who swiftly feathers himself and takes off into the searing overland sky with Kay-only time for a brief whisper from Hades to Chloe. You should be able to hear what he says, but you are beginning to fear the cost, even for heightened senses, and refuse to use them._

When we have won, we will make time for everything. I am sick to death of there never being enough time.

 _You laugh at yourself. Winning this war only means turning to the next war. You almost prefer to face Demeter, for next you must face yourself, and that fight will last for the rest of your miserable life._

I can do it. With Kay I can do it.

 _You do not even know if she will take you now._

If she will not take me, she will keep me contained. Either way, you lose.

 _So you say, Puppet, but we shall see._

 _Hades is anything but gentle as he drags you by your rags through the underworld. You do not see Vivi, Teles, or Chloe. Where have they gone? We have been too involved with our own selves to take note, we must take notice of all now, the house of cards is so precarious._

 _You cannot help but admire when the tunnels are no longer rock, but obsidian set with shimmering blue and green stones so thick-set and scattered that they approximate the night sky underground-but closer and therefore more brilliant._

Did he mold the land to ease his bride with familiarity? Did the god of the underworld know beauty before her?

 _Of course he did. He has gems and precious metals and the fire of the land's core at his whim. You saw little of it because you were in the dungeons. Perhaps he shaped nothing for her, perhaps his realm was always like this. Likely you will never know for sure, it is not nearly a high enough priority to ask after._

How far did he have to stretch his strength to rescue Persephone?

 _You already know. You are stretched to your own limits for similar reasons._

 _The tunnel fades from obsidian to jade, carved in dagger-sharp facets and points that reach out from the walls, as if in warning. Hades' steps drag, as if his feet are more difficult to lift each time. The scent of overladen roses and roast grain teases your senses, and you know you approach the edge of Hades' domain._

 _There Hades pauses a moment. He reaches into his robes and withdraws a fistful of hyacinth and moss, pressing it to his face. Then he returns it and withdraws something else._

Arthur's eyes widened as Hades withdrew a golden plume from his robe.

"I would that you let her be, mortal. It is never wise to try and return to what was when it has passed beyond repair. But do not think me incapable of understanding or sympathizing. That being said, you have your wish within your grasp." He reached down, tucking the feather into Arthur's hand. "Remember why you are doing this."

 _He is a fool if he thinks it is possible for us to forget-_

Arthur pressed the feather to his face, allowing the memory of Kay's song to wash over him again. He was Arthur Kingsmen. He was about to face the person truly responsible for the Pepper family's ruin. And he would finally bring justice.

There was nowhere to hide or keep the feather, so he let it fall to the ground. Raising his head he nodded to Hades, who dragged him on. No, up. The passage angled sharply up, the floor inclining more and more until it was no longer an incline but a sheer wall. And still Hades walked it, allowing Arthur to hang down by threadbare rags from his grasp.

 _You hold your breath. You will be before Demeter soon, and it must not be Arthur before her. It must be me. Her beaten, submissive, footlicking servant._

 _You cannot see the transition from underground to surface, dangled as you are, but the jade wall is gone, Hades' feet firmly planted on the powdery red soil of the land above his. We are dragged across a bridge and thrown down to the perfectly uniform grass at an all too familiar pair of feet._

 _"Well, Lord Hades." The voice is calm. Assured, with a hint of mockery. "One would hope you do not treat all your guests this way. Particularly my daughter."_

 _"Do not fear, Demeter. I am well acquainted with the difference between an unwelcome intruder and my wife."_

 _"Intruder? Is this true, pet?" She drips with such concern. "Did you enter his realm?"_

 _You grunt in admission, willing your face puffier, your bruises louder and more colorful._

 _"Do not try and extricate yourself from this." His voice does not waver and every word is round and cold. He must be stone. "My pet goes nowhere without my knowledge, and neither does yours. You sent a mind-drinker and a soul-drainer to my realm."_

" _Are you accusing me, brother?" Demeter asked. You can hear the edge of triumph on her words._

Take the bait, Lord Hades. You have to take it, we are almost there.

" _I am accusing you."_

 _"Well. This is quite a serious matter, then." Demeter crouches over you, her hands soft on your wounds. "I suppose we must go to Zeus and settle this, then. I must attend to my pet after your generous hospitality. We shall meet at Olympus next dawn, then?"_

 _The sky darkens. A drop of rain hits the back of your head. Hades doesn't falter. "There is no need for that. I have already sent for him. He has come to settle our dispute."_

 _Lightning strikes the ground a few feet from your face and you recoil, whining in fear. But you are exuberant as the roiling earth within Demeter's form goes perfectly still for a fraction of a moment._

We did it. We caught her off guard. Now to keep her there and close the trap. So close…

…..

Someone was coming. The press of life around him crowded thick and heavy and dark. Angry at the intrusion and violation of its order. The hedges shifted, writhing branches within themselves in distress.

Lewis stood in the tree, keeping a firm hold on Dulcie with one arm and gathering his hatred in a fiery orb in the other. Deadbeats fanned out, scanning the area. Two squawked and Lewis seized on their senses, peering through their eyes.

Winging low over the hedges were two strange birds. One white with brown spots and a red crest, trailing a tail of red feathers. Its beak switched through the air, back and forth, and its flight path was bringing it dangerously close to their hiding place. The other bird was gold with a cold, hard eye. This one carried a long black stone in its claws. Each crisscrossed the Cage just above the hedges.

Lewis was unwilling to attract more attention to himself than necessary, not with Demeter's threat hanging over his head. He leaped down, scattering the Deadbeats to find a more secluded spot, preferably one with the hedges overshadowing the ground so he could hide.

Then Pachelbel's Canon in D curled through the air.

All Deadbeats homed in on the golden bird, now singing as it swept over the hedges.

"Lewis!" Dulcie cried. "That's Kay's voice! I hear her over the ocean all the time, that's her voice!"

He knew. And the few notes of Canon in D repeated over and over could only mean she knew he was there and that she was looking for him. The Deadbeat view shifted back to the other bird, catching a flash of yellow spectacles perched on the beak they'd overlooked. Yes, Mystery and Kay had come for them.

For a split second he considered hiding. If that really was Kay-and who was he kidding, of course it was-he wasn't ready to face her. There was no way he could know for sure she really would forgive him, and probably no way he could ever apologize deeply enough for what he'd done.

But Dulcie's fingers tightened on his lapel and immediately he rose skyward, putting them in plain sight. She would not spend one more second in this place, no matter what or who he had to face.

Both birds angled straight for him, the Deadbeats close on their tailfeathers. Mystery gave a glad cry, hailing Lewis with a flip of his tail. Kay flew straight past him, singing the same few notes.

"Follow her!" Mystery called. "She has our way out!"

Lewis turned, gliding after Kay as she headed for the Cage dome. Thorny branches uncurled from the dome as she approached, stabbing toward her, but she never flinched. She merely held up the thin, black rock in her claws and the branches shriveled and dropped off. One touch of the rock to the dome wall withered a hole large enough for all to pass through, which Lewis did with all speed.

As soon as he passed the boundaries of the Cage, the pressure of overwhelming life left him. He nearly dropped from the sky, his relief was so great, but Mystery clipped his skull with a wing. "Hold on a while longer, Lewis. The others have gone to face Demeter already. We are to join them as soon as we are able."

Dulcie shivered, but Kay circled in a little closer, soothing. "Don't worry, Dulcie. It's almost over. You'll be home before you know it."

Lewis' bones ached at the sound of her voice. He reached out a hand to her, but she snapped her wings, putting distance between them.

Mystery lighted on Lewis' shoulder, whispering, "Time, Lewis. She has not yet acknowledged her sister Aji or her mother in this time either. But for now, Arthur needs us. You are all witnesses against Demeter. We must hurry."


	27. If Its The Last Thing That I Do

_Aji has brought the storm, the thunder, the lightning. Red wings circle overhead, navigating the air currents as she searches for a safe place to land. Zeus touches down in the next lightning strike. If a plasma orb took human form, it would pale next to the being that rises from the ashen crater. Blue and white light forks faster than thought across thunderheads coiled tightly to human form that overshadows both Hades and Demeter in size. Overhead, darker clouds blot out the sun and spit rain like scorn._

 _"Zeus." The name from Demeter's mouth is brittle with frost. "This is unexpected. I welcome you."_

 _Zeus has no features, but his head is swirling with black clouds. "Pleasantries freeze your face, sister. One would expect a true welcome to come with a smile, but we are not here for such things. I have been called to mediate a mere territory breach?"_

 _His ice puts hers to shame. He has heard what he needed to, then, but this tips the balance back to Demeter. She knows something is wrong. She turns to you, stone eyes drilling for guilt. But she has not Hades' rule over the soul and she can only gaze so deep. You whine pitifully, attempting to wag tails that are not there, groveling on all fours. Pathetic, hardly a man at all, certainly her loyal servant who only carried out her orders and suffered a brutal beating for it._

 _No. You can feel her disapproval. Suspicion. Truth could be beat from you, and she did not forbid you to speak. Have you betrayed her? She is unsure._

 _Meet her eyes. Think of the seedlings you crafted for her, those beautiful blooms just waiting to sprout and undo her enemies. You want to plant them. Let me plant them, Mistress. Give them to me. Let me prove myself. Anything you ask._

 _Demeter lifts her head. "My pet is exhausted from Hades' magnificent hospitality. Perhaps you will grant him a few moments to lick his wounds. He is a quick healer, I am sure he will return shortly."_

 _"Get him gone," Zeus thunders, "and in the meantime Hades will present his complaint and you your defense."_

 _You roll to your feet, limping off, but where to? The land slopes downhill ever so slightly, easing your way. The grass before your feet curls itself just barely shorter than the greenery around it, laying out a path. You follow, feigning as much injury as you can while hurrying. You allow the wounds from your beating to heal as you pass into the marble halls. Likely she means for you to take some of her harvest to replenish yourself, but you will not take one more grain, grape, or groat from her hand._

 _You find the black door. It swings open before you touch it, and there they are. Rows and rows of curses, along with a fresh toga. Of course, you could not hide them otherwise, not in your rags._

 _This gives you pause. Why is there a toga already waiting for you? You shake it off. It is to hide the curses and hand them over, that is all. Your hand trembles as you shed your rags and clumsily wrap the toga around yourself. You tuck the curses one by one into the folds of the cloth, hiding them here and there all over your body. The vines already growing on you thicken._

 _Laden with more power than you could hope to achieve in five lifetimes, you return to the path laid out for you. Only light bruises remain and your steps come more easily. The gods come into view soon enough. Hades stands silent as Demeter gesticulates, pointing at him quite often. You lift your head and spy Aji, still circling overhead. She watches you, eyes narrow and mouth shut tight. You arrive and stand by your Mistress' side._

 _Demeter jerks her chin down. "You are better, my pet?" she asks, affecting tenderness._

 _You force a cringe and grovel, beating back your hatred one more time. "Yes, Mistress."_

 _"Good. I'm afraid you must defend your actions now, but never fear." She bends close, whispering my name in your ear. You are horrified as the strength of the goddess' command of me sets in and she adds, "Bear the curses to my brothers, I will speak the words."_

 _In a split second we are undone! She had a contingency plan if things did not go as she wanted, damn the harridan! I was always,_ always _to be the sacrifice!_

But together we have all the pieces.

 _There is nothing to be done! We are bound to her command, and we will go down along with the gods!_

So. If that is our fate, tell me if you prefer to go down as her lapdog or drag her to oblivion with us.

 _You know the answer. How is it done, Puppet?_

Trust the sirens. All of them. Welcome every song that binds us and reminds us who we are.

 _There is only one siren to be seen, and she a half-breed! Hardly the strength to withstand this command._

Hades is no fool. Teles must be nearby and Kay should be on her way. If we can force ourselves to linger a touch longer, she will be there. Do you know what you would say to Demeter?

 _I have the words._

 _Your resolve is formed in the time it takes to straighten and bow to the goddess. Your deepest bow, with unrepentant mockery on your face. It no longer matters, you may as well show your disdain._

 _You approach Hades, who turns his soul-baring eyes upon you. Fool Demeter, you think your pet beyond his gaze, but your pet is now mortal with a soul that falls under Hades' dominion in the end. You meet his gaze, the dark resolve at the forefront of your thoughts. "I will state my case," your lips say as your hand clutches your clothing._

 _At this, Hades reaches into his robes and withdraws three carved gemstone figures, hurling them to the ground. They swell and stretch, reaching full size in two blinks and bursting from emerald and ruby and sapphire casings. There is Chloe, hooves striking the ground like hammers on an anvil, hurtling at Demeter with a furious shriek of "Kira!"_

 _And there is Teles, barring your way, with Vivi clutching her arm, wide-eyed. Your teeth sharpen. You must get to Hades, you must get to Zeus._

 _And there is song. Teles, the siren of old, sings to you, bringing you to your knees. But you still crawl forward._

 _And there is song. From overhead, Aji cries her fiery notes, wrenching at you, but it is still not enough. The weight of a godess' order presses you forward._

 _And Hades lifts a hand and there are two more melodies, pure as Teles' song, circling overhead in the clouds, and Teles' music lifts in rare rapture as she stretches her hands skyward. You fall facefirst, but you still cannot stop moving forward._

 _You are surrounded and bound and torn by the notes, but none of the voices know you, none of them can guide you back because your name is meaningless in their mouths. It is not enough, you realize, as you slide forward on your stomach. Zeus lifts a hand. He will end you before you can get close enough. Demeter will not be stopped, only set back. It is all for nothing._

 _One. More. Song._

"Arthur."

 _You stand. It knows you. This one knows you and gives your name meaning and direction, and the tide turns. Force of command is directed by the core-deep reminder that you are not the creature Demeter thinks you are._

No. He wasn't. Arthur Kingsmen may have changed, but he was still Arthur Kingsmen. He turned to see Demeter-fleeing? Demeter was running, raising forest walls and hedges every other step that Chloe crashed through, forehead lowered and ears flat to her skull. "Kira!" Chloe screamed, gnashing her teeth.

 _"Here!" You cry over the storm, dragging yourself to your feet and hurtling yourself toward Demeter. Chloe changes direction, herding Demeter and curving their path to cross yours._

It has always been a game of identity.

 _She sees, but it is too late. You hurl yourself at her, knocking her to the ground._

Now.

" _Forget your name, forget your place." The words slither from your mouth, and the curses burst their bonds. "Forget the sight of your own face." She cries out, but the vines have already begun to dig themselves into her-and us. "Wander wastelands harvest-bare and hear no word of worship, prayer." The roots sink deep. You cannot move, you are bound to her hand and foot. Seal our fates and be done with it. "From now until the end of days be lost to dark and trackless ways."_

 _A great crack sounds from the earth below._

 _The vines tear at her form, squeezing and ripping. Clumps of dirt drop from her body and she rends her land from end to end with her screams. You too feel the pull at your body but it no longer matters. You accomplished what you set out to do. Demeter is finished, there is no saving-_

"Squire!"

Arms wrapped around Arthur's chest from behind, straining.

"Uti vires ad pugnam ad mortem!" Vivi cried, and the vines began to crawl past him, up her arms.

Thick, bone-plated hands covered Vivi's, adding Lewis' strength to the struggle. Arthur could not see his skin anymore. There were only the vines everywhere, the buds forming, preparing to flower over him and Demeter.

 _The ground alongside you bursts, vomiting up a tangle of honeysuckle creepers and jasmines. An army of petunias carpets the grass in furious hues of red and orange as the tangle resolves itself into the shape of a woman with a void in place of a face, leaning over the mass of curses slowly tearing you loose from your body._

 _She seizes the toga and tears it off you, speaking words you hope you never understand for the tremble they put in your soul. But with every syllable the curse recedes from your body. You are ripped free by the force of Vivi and Lewis' struggle and_ Arthur was crushed into Lewis' grip, barely able to turn his head to see the void-faced goddess stand over the swiftly crumbling form of Demeter.

Stone eyes stared up at the void, unblinking, one hand grasping upward.

The void-faced goddess seized Demeter's hand. "I am Persephone," came the voice of darkness itself. "I am the goddess of the curses over men's souls. I am the goddess of vegetation. And you? You were only ever a warden and a thief."

The hand disintegrated, a great wind sweeping through the garden and carrying off the dust until all that remained was a pair of stone eyes, lying lifeless in a bed of petunias.

….

 **Note:** Anyone wanna take a gander at what Petunias symbolize? Not all the times, but here and there in the fic I did actually check flower symbolism. Also chapter title excerpted from Bleeding Out by Imagine Dragons.


	28. The Mess That We Made

_A realm where every green and flowering thing holds itself to screaming perfection is released to wilt. Unroll. Shrivel in cringing relief. The Cage, far in the distance, is a mass of worm-eaten plant mold in minutes, and every living creature within receives the death they were denied for centuries. All growth begins to decay, rotting backwards from the petal to the stalk, the base, the root; a land of green becomes brown and black within seconds, and Persephone proclaims it good. The land must rest, she says. It has endured much, and must be tended for what it is before it is asked to produce again._

 _The unseen shackles I shouldered under my oath to Demeter fall away. You faint once again for your exertions, yet your senses remain. You continue watching from beyond the limits of your body. You have done this before, under the firstborn's command to sleep, but now because you are not content to slip blindly into the dark. You must know what is happening in spite of your body, and you have my help._

 _You are taken into Lewis' arms and wrapped in the blanket he manifests. Vivi spends a moment in shock before rising to her feet and demanding you be taken somewhere you can rest. Hades obliges, opening his realm for your return. You are carried down, down, down into the earth in a lengthy procession, laid to rest in a bed with Mystery at your side, likely to keep watch, and Chloe at your feet, already generating the healing aura that comes more easily each time she reaches for it._

 _All others file out of the room, for Zeus will hear every sordid detail to weigh his judgment, though the sentence is already carried out._

 _I am free of Demeter, as I was free of the mistress before her. And now she who binds us is weaker by far._

But stronger just because she's not alone. You can't outthink all of us, and we will all keep you in check.

 _They are already fractured. Stretch your senses beyond the darkness of a mind at rest. Smell the resentment and bitterness steeping in the soul of your dearly beloved, surrounded by those who have done her harm. And she is to simply take them back into her wings?_

But she-

 _The shame swallowing the second born and the eldest son. Their mother, consumed by her own despair._

We can fix-

 _Fix what? Where are their father's memories, Puppet?_

I… you! I had them.. They're gone, you stole them!

 _But you could not keep them. They would have overcome you. I did you a favor, Puppet. Before you ask, no. I cannot return them. They are a part of me now, and I did not bother to keep them separate. There was no gain for us in such an act. So, the father is broken as well. How long before the youngest child cracks under the strain of-_

"Enough." Mystery's command rolled with a warning growl as his paws settled on Arthur's chest. "Forgive me the intrusion, Arthur, but I will not sit by and watch him dismantle you."

Grateful, Arthur clung to Mystery's presence in his mind.

Mystery's words enfolded him, fortifying against the attack. "The family is in tatters, yes, but they survived. Those that have not survived are still, inexplicably with us. Of course they are in shambles, the curses are not to be taken lightly, but they survived what otherwise would have been utter destruction and despair. And now they will be able to rebuild. And so will you, Arthur." His voice glowed with approval. "Above and beyond, Arthur. I wouldn't have thought it of the idiot who stuck a fork in an electrical socket on a dare, but you didn't back down. I daresay your endurance, were it truly understood, would be the terror of every spiritual entity you come across. Already the gods of this realm fear you."

Arthur winced.

"And for Mr. Pepper, what's done is done. It can not be helped. But for hope, you have only to look to Vivi and Lewis. Love can be relearned, connections renewed. I would not advise trying possession as Lewis did, indeed you would do Mr. Pepper more harm than good. But you and Vivi can offer Mr. Pepper accounts of the memories he no longer has, and so can the children who return to him."

Warmth kindled in Arthur's chest. Broken things could be repaired. He did it all the time in the shop. People were different from cars and mechanical prosthetics, but they could be repaired too. It just took time, patience, and perseverance.

 _You have formidable defenses and networks. I admit it freely, Puppet. But you entrapped me here. And for that, your life will be mine._

Arthur's throat tightened, his chest constricting. There had to be some end to this. Mystery was a Kitsune too, maybe he knew how to-

"I'm sorry, Arthur. I cannot remove him from your body."

Arthur bit back a cry of frustration. Was there anyone who could?

"There was, but I have not seen or felt Her in many years."

 _She is gone. Dead. I killed Her._

"Keep your lies to yourself," Mystery snapped. "She still lives and She can draw you out of him."

The smell of cherry blossoms accompanied the Shiker's snarl. _By all means, enjoy chasing your tail seeking Her out. It's all you've ever been good for._

Arthur shivered, holding tight to the scrap Mystery had given him. Someone existed who could save him. Hadn't the Shiker panicked at the gauntlet of cherry trees Demeter had them pass through to reach the Cage?

Whoever She was, She had to be alive. Shiker wouldn't be so jumpy if She wasn't.

"I thought so. Stay strong, Arthur. I will speak to Vivi when we return home. There are ways to sort out his kind."

 _"My kind?" you roar, coming fully awake, your lips drawn back from dripping fangs. "I am your kind! If it had been you that Demeter chose, not me, it would have been you slaying children and harvesting sacred herds!"_

 _The bed is large and luxurious, the single sheet thick enough to keep you perfectly warm. Chloe's ears are pinned back to her skull, and she flaps her lips in warning, but the healing does not diminish. Mystery is planted in your lap and does not budge. The coldness in his eyes does not match the cleverly purposed form of a soft, loveable dog._

 _"I would not." He enunciates each word, clipping it off at the end with precision. "I would have remembered whom I served."_

 _Your face contorts in a grin that nearly wraps around your head. "You say that now, of course you would say it. You have fed off the girl for many years now. Tell me, how loyal is she?"_

 _It is only a fraction of a movement, but his eyes widen. He has lost his footing. He has taken on so much of her love and loyalty that he hardly remembers what it is to be empty, tossed about by Her will. Push at that crack, he wouldn't chase after Her if he feared_ Arthur threw his arm around Mystery, chest heaving. Finding a place to break through was harder now that he no longer shared a goal with the Shiker.

He needed Mystery to do this. He would beg like a dog himself if he had to.

"No need, Arthur." A wet tongue swiped his ear. "I am most fond of Vivi, but I am fond of you too. And as our last living pack member, I take responsibility for this situation."

 _"You are not the last living member! I'm right here!"_

"Are you?" Mystery yawned wide, the back of his throat burning golden for a moment before he closed his mouth. "I see no soul gem. I don't even see you."

 _You turn away, but he plants his paws on your shoulders, shoving you down and pinning you._

"Because you are dead. What is left of you is not even you. Because even you are Arthur Kingsmen. A part of him with the great misfortune to bear the memory and abilities of my kin. Nothing more."

 _You falter. You reach for your name. Not the name you gave yourself, the name Demeter spoke. But you can't remember it. You never could, not after you gave it to her. You recognized it on call, but only then. She had plucked it from you like a weed from her garden._

 _You can't be Arthur Kingsmen. He has his uses, but he is nothing to the creature you are. He has not seen the things you have. He would never do the dark things that had to be done, that's why he had to lean on you this whole time. It was always you doing the dirty work, first for Her, then for Demeter, and now for Arthur. Who will use you next?_

 _"No one!" you roar. "If it takes his whole life, I will get back what I lost!"_

Arthur's head rolled back and he groaned.

"It will be okay, Arthur-san." Chloe nudged his legs. "Vivi-chan will think of something."

"This is going to be my expedition, thank you very much," Mystery returned, indignant.

Chloe snorted, shaking her mane. "Then tell Vivi, see what happens."

Arthur struggled to slide a leg over the edge of the bed, but a harsh grunt from Chloe stopped him. " _You_ lie still. Can't keep the dog still when it's his turn, but if you move again I'll roll over on you."

He blinked, settling back. Her glare softened.

"I'm sorry, Arthur-san. You need to rest. There's a lot of people very worried for you. Vivi-chan wouldn't forgive me if I let you up before you were ready." She laid her muzzle down on the sheets. "And neither would Duet."

Arthur shot a startled look at Chloe.

"What? You think I forgot just because there's a big giant to-do going on all the time for a few days?" She averted her eyes, her voice wobbly. "You all owe him a funeral. A big one, even if it has to be secret. Everyone dresses really nice. No exceptions. Lewis had better still have Duet's body in that disappearing house."

He'd hardly spared a thought for Duet. Chloe was right. If anyone had saved them from the Shiker, it had been Duet. It was because of him the real Shiker was dead, his remains confined to a mortal form. Arthur was stuck like this, but at least the Shiker was limited.

Mystery dipped his head, his ears drooping. "The Quintet did the best they could for you. I regret I did not understand your circumstances sooner. I would be honored if you would allow me to attend their funeral."

Chloe's gaze slid sideways at Mystery for a moment before she shut her eyes. "Baka dog. I said you all owe him a funeral. That includes you."

…..

Not much could be heard over the roar in Aji's ears. She never thought she'd wish Kingsmen was present, but she stood utterly alone as the gods argued over the minutiae of what had happened, occasionally taking testimony from Lewis. Then Kay, who perched stonily on the chest of her own body. Then her Mom. Then from two spirits she took to be her aunts, perched on either shoulder of her Mom in the forms of a black raven and a brown nightingale. Even Vivi had a say, standing in for both Chloe and Kingsmen. Dulcie piped up here and there, and the few questions Aji received were answered, somehow.

Dad had forgotten her. Mom and Kay wouldn't look at her. Dulcie's nervous glances could hardly be called acknowledgement. Even Lewis seemed torn, hovering between her and Kay even though Kay wouldn't look at him either. She wished like nothing else that Kingsmen could be there, even if his stupid face was mooning over Kay at least he'd spare Aji something better than half hearted pity and ice.

He knew. Somehow he knew about the way her hands itched and her throat stung, the way anger crashed any defense and even when she tried to fight it, the pull was just too strong. Everything turned red, every sound mocked her, and she would come back to herself surrounded by death. And she could see in his face, even as she beat him into the ground, that he knew what drove her.

And it was still there, crawling along her skin, beating hot and frantic in her pulse. Her nostrils filled with the scent of blood and vomit. It would be easy to make herself the only living daughter, then Mom would _have_ to look at her again. Mom had been trying to kill Dulcie off this whole time anyway, hadn't she? She couldn't fault Aji.

The second Aji wrested her thoughts back from that cliff, another loomed. Lewis would never really be part of their family again, not as long as he had Vivi. Her mutt wasn't around to protect her this time, and Lewis wouldn't think anything of Aji getting close until it was too late.

Aji took one step back, her chest tight as a drum as turning from Vivi brought Kingsmen's face to mind again. He would want to die, and she wouldn't really be killing him after all. She'd be killing Lewis' murderer, and Arthur wanted that too. He would probably be miserable for the rest of his life, it would hardly be called murder.

Mom didn't deserve to live. It would be a fight, but Aji could take her. She should have said something, warned them. Flying lessons and song control was never enough, if they'd just known what they were up against! It was all her fault!

Naked. Stripped. Stricken, she raised her head and realized she was under scrutiny of Persephone and Hades. Everything laid bare before the flashing jewels and the faceless void. Her knees buckled and she hit the ground, wrapping her arms around herself and squeezing her eyes shut.

A strange sort of writhing language was spoken over her, and she recognized words Persephone had spoken over Kingsmen. She opened her eyes to see Persephone pantomiming as if winding up a ball of yarn. The tension in Aji's chest began to ease and the thoughts receded along with the urge strangling her fingers. She lay on the ground, allowing relief to pool through her body.

Once finished, Persephone turned to Lewis, enacting the same pantomime and chant. From him, she travelled to Dulcie and from Dulcie to Kay. Lastly Persephone approached Aji's Mom, placing her hands on Teles' scarred arms. "For the time my mother poisoned your life, I ask your forgiveness. Today is the first I have had the strength to release you from that which she stole from me. Receive freedom, long overdue, my old friend." As she repeated the words, Teles slowly sagged into Persephone's arms. The spirits on Teles' shoulders wrapped wings around her head, crooning softly.

Having completed her recitation, Persephone crouched to the ground, cradling Teles. She lifted her head, addressing the gathering. "I have removed the remaining vestiges of the curse. I cannot undo what has been done, but what has been done can, in some cases, begin to heal." She dipped her head toward Lewis. "I am sorry there is nothing more I can do for you."

Lewis said nothing, bowing his head in return.

"I can, though," Hades' amended, with a dour expression. "I will allow you to return to the mortal realm. Your state will endure until the span of Vivi's life has passed, for part of her sustains you. Removing you would irreparably damage her."

Vivi sidled up to Lewis, sliding her hand into his. His fingers closed tightly around her hand.

Zeus heaved a sigh. "Demeter never agreed with my decision to seal our realm away, but this band has done nothing but prove my point. Now we will have to take extra measures."

"What of my daughter?" Of course, Mom was looking at Kay. "She was promised her life back."

"Seconded," Vivi chimed in. "I heard you agree to it, and you know Squire would be crawling up your back if you didn't keep your word."

Aji drew her knees to her chest and hid her face in them. She would never be accepted again. Tolerated, maybe, but never accepted back. There was nothing she could do.

"I have not forgotten, but there is still a price. You cannot simply retrieve the dead."

It didn't matter that she'd ridden the back of the North wind to summon Zeus. It didn't matter that she'd thrown herself at one of Cerberus' heads to give Kingsmen a window. It didn't matter that her actions had been dictated before she was even born.

"The last mortal who came for such purposes was not willing to do what had to be done. He left with tales of our cruelty, crying that we forced a much simpler task on him and snatched his beloved away on a minor failing. But if he were honest, he would admit he was unwilling to pay the price to retrieve her. A coward, he refused to admit his selfishness and blamed us."

Nothing she could do.

"So. I ask those with the breath of life in this room. Who is willing to change places with the dead?"

One breath out, his words hanging in the air.

One breath in, an answer already on Aji's tongue.

One breath out. "Take me! Take me instead!"

One breath in. Hades hand on her throat, the flesh under his fingers parting like claws had sunk into her neck, tearing her windpipe and cords apart. Blood flowed into her lungs, cutting off her words.

One breath out, fading into darkness, as Kay's body shuddered with its first breath in.

…..

 **Note:** (cough) callback to chapter 6 (cough). Also, I will try not to say this very often, but I thrive on your feedback. I love hearing what you think, but especially what you feel, during or after reading these. If something is too confusing. If you're looking for something to be addressed still. If you have theories. If you have a guess about where the story is going. Headcanons. Button-mashing reactions. I love all of it, and would love to hear from you. That is ALWAYS true. Chapter title excerpted from next fic's title song, Flaws by Bastille. Which reminds me, the next fic is Flaws, because we're drawing to the end of this one shortly. Yes, it has been extended to a 5-fanfic series.


	29. Just Start Again

_Shhhhhhnk._

Arthur cracked one eye open, scanning the room. Chloe's glow had faded out and she lay fast asleep at the end of the bed, but the walls offered a dim luminescence to see by. Thick, dark lines spread themselves along that luminescence, crisscrossing in a distinct, rectangular shape.

He released his breath. The lack of any door in the room had unnerved him for some time until Mystery had reminded him that he was the guest of a god who controlled every aspect of this realm and who would return a door to the room when it was needed. No doubt Hades still had reservations about having him as a guest, and Arthur didn't blame him for taking precautions. It was hard to rest easy, no matter how luxurious the bed, knowing he was entombed.

Once the lines completed their shape, the door swung open, allowing soft pink light to pool in the doorway. Vivi stood there with Lewis right behind, and Arthur's heart rose, a smile on his lips.

He'd finally done it. Lewis would be so proud of him. If there was even a tiny bit of resentment left over his death, Lewis would release it, forgiving Arthur for getting angry and not keeping his guard up. Once they got back to the surface, Vivi could take the reins of the group again and they could sort the mess they'd left, but it would be together. They'd bring in new cases, work out their problems, and be a team again.

His hopes shuddered to a halt. Lewis' hand was on Vivi's waist, steadying her. Her arms braced against the doorframe and her eyes were hidden by her bangs. The sound of knives scraping against each other filled the room, but he couldn't discern the source.

Somewhere in his mind, a mocking laughter began. _Happily ever after._

Vivi straightened, tugging her sleeves down to the wrists and marched into the room, her chin at sharp level and Lewis no more than a few inches behind. Lewis wouldn't meet Arthur's eyes and Vivi wouldn't look anywhere else.

 _Happily ever after._

The edges of Arthur's vision paled, bands squeezing his chest until his breathing crackled in short, staccato bursts.

"Vivi, whatever you have to say, say it quickly." Mystery pressed his forelegs into Arthur's lap, and Arthur seized on the sense of pressure as an anchor. "He knows something's wrong."

Lewis' shoulders hunched and he reached toward Arthur, but Vivi intercepted his hand. "No. Mystery's right. He needs to hear it all at once." She took a deep breath. "Squire, Kay's back, but like Hades said, there was a cost. Aji volunteered herself to take Kay's place."

The laughter in his mind swelled. _Happily ever after._

He couldn't breathe. He'd lost one of them. He'd failed. He hadn't been able to keep the family together for Lewis' sake.

It wasn't right. He wasn't going to face Lewis again until he had Aji back. It had to be complete to be a victory, to be a family again they _all_ had to make it! He tore the sheets back, struggling to the edge of the bed.

"Knock it off, Kingsmen. And get that panicky 'I failed' look off your face. You've aged yourself enough already."

He lifted his head as the sound of scraping knives filled the room and a burning scarlet figure lit on Lewis' shoulder. It was a hawk with an iron beak ground to fearsome hooked tips, each feather of its broad wings tipped and edged in steel that sharpened with every rustle of feather over feather. It wore elaborately engraved steel guards molded to fit its legs and toes while leaving the talons bare.

Aji's soul. Arthur's face crumpled, his shoulders sagging.

"Hey. Hey, Kingsmen." Aji glided down, landing on the bed. Every step she took sliced the thick sheet like butter. He held very still. "It's better this way. Hades and I had a long talk. He's offered me a home here. I can work for him, y'know? He's been hoping to get a good messenger for a while because he thinks Hermes is turning into a real brat. He says as soon as I've finished my business I can come and work for him."

Arthur stared blankly.

She turned her head away. "I asked him if I could find the souls I sent over too soon. They're scattered in several different gods' realms, depending on ancestry, and most afterlifes require a toll or are punishing them heavily already for whatever put them in Juvie." She lifted her head, her eyes glittering hard. "I promised to find them all and guide them to rest before I take my place. And he's granted me the ability to cross dimensions to do just that."

He ground the heels of his hands into his eyes.

"None of that," Aji hissed. "It's done, Kingsmen. And you'd better take damn good care of my sisters, hear me? Dulcie won't come within ten feet of Mom right now and Kay's going to need you more than ever."

"Aji," Lewis murmured.

"What?" Aji snapped. "What I heard was we're supposed to tell him everything quickly, so here it is. Kay's still lost her marbles."

Arthur's mouth fell open, the pressure in his chest doubling.

"That makes no sense!" Mystery protested. "We all saw her soul, she was fine!"

Vivi lowered herself to sit on the edge of the bed. "Yeah, I know. But her soul wasn't cursed, her mind was. Persephone removed the curses on everyone in the Pepper family, but that doesn't change the damage that already happened."

 _Happily ever after!_ roared the laughter.

Vivi grabbed Arthur by the shoulders. "But the curse is gone. We can piece things back together, Squire."

Her words didn't sound as clear as they had a minute ago. The room shifted, tilting ever so slightly left. There was a giant fox, and the fox was coming through him, and the fox would consume everything. How could Arthur ever guide Kay back when he couldn't find his own way without her?

Once again, Mystery's presence pooled into his mind and the battle was over before it began. Every scrap of Arthur-even the Shiker part-was through with confrontational fighting, at least for now. He wouldn't face up to Mystery. Arthur sagged back against the pillows, whimpering.

Vivi's arms circled him from one side, and Lewis' from the other. Mystery leaned against his chest.

"We're almost done, Squire." Vivi soothed. "And when we get back, you don't have to take care of anything. We'll be back on home turf and Lewis and I will handle everything. I promise."

He couldn't even tell Vivi that it didn't matter how many details were handled by other people, he simply could not fight the Shiker alone. With Kay out of commission he would be easy pickings for the darker, damaged parts of his mind, and then who knew what would happen to the team.

Mystery raised a paw and batted Vivi's arm. "Vivi, could you do without me for some time? I believe Arthur has need of a service dog."

Vivi dropped a hand to Mystery's head. "Yeah, buddy. I'll manage. I've got Lewis to give me a reality check if I need it."

Mystery turned and nudged Arthur's shoulder firmly. "There. Stop your panicking. I won't leave your side until we've established a longer-term solution for this issue."

A measure of fear subsided, allowing him to consider what Vivi and Aji had told him. According to them, his only immediate priorities need be repairing himself and helping Kay recover.

Kay was alive.

Mystery dove off his lap as he squirmed out of Lewis and Vivi's hold, finding his feet and swaying until Lewis caught his arm.

Mystery cleared his throat. "We'd best take him to Kay. If things are as you say, we should see if there is some good that can be done for them in each others' company."

Lewis hesitated, his grip tightening and Arthur glanced up, pained. Did he still think-? But Lewis wasn't looking at him, he was looking at the ground. Slowly, he released Arthur's arm. "You three should go ahead. Kay can't stand the sight of me right now, and Aji and I need to talk anyway."

Arthur only paused a moment. There was no point trying to sort things with Lewis until he had another hand to sign with. But Kay wouldn't need his words. He walked toward the door, a little less wobbly, but Vivi intercepted him with an arm around his waist. He draped his good arm over her shoulder, accepting the support.

"Mystery, stay back and wake Chloe, would you?" Vivi called over her shoulder. "Hades needs a word with her and Squire in a bit."

Arthur barely registered his surroundings as Vivi steadied his steps out of the room and down a dim, granite tunnel. All he could think about was how the last time he'd had to lean on Vivi, he'd come to the Peppers to confess murder, sans any intent to commit it. He'd barely spared a thought for Lewis at the time, more concerned with what Kay would think of him. And then what the other Peppers would think. His vow over Lewis' grave to find the murderer, was it truly for Lewis or had he sought to free himself of the creature that took him? Would he even have bothered with all this if he'd listened to Lewis in the first place and backed off dating Kay without resentment?

He paused, shutting his eyes and breathing slowly, deliberately. Subtle threads of confusion had been sown through his thoughts. His analysis turned back on him, throwing everything into doubt. Every day would be like this now, and even that thought, he realized, was deliberately planted to undermine him.

"Hey. Squire. I'm not totally sure what's going through your head right now, though I've got a couple good guesses. When we get back, we'll get you your prosthetic and have a solid debriefing, but I just wanna tell you something really important. Think you can listen for a minute?"

He opened his eyes again, nodding at Vivi, grateful for something external to fix his thoughts on.

"Duet said something before he-they-died. He said sometimes you do the best you can even if it's not enough. And you did, Squire. It wasn't enough for everyone-" Arthur turned from her, the words twisting sharp in his chest. "-but you did everything you could possibly do. And you saved two of them instead of none of them." She put her hand on his cheek, guiding his face back to focus on her. "And I'm proud to be on the same team as you."

He swallowed, squeezing her twice.

A weak grin crossed her face. " 'Me too'?" she guessed.

He nodded.

"Proud to be on your own team?" she teased.

He rolled his eyes but matched her smile, some of the heaviness lifting.

"Yeah yeah, I know what you mean." She jerked her chin forward. "Hey, look. I think we're almost there."

Just ahead the tunnel opened wide and, when he glanced up, tall. The opening flared out in a sharp curve to either side and upward. Granite gave way to a dome set with hundreds of thousands of pale blue gems and semi-precious stones, a pulsing orange splotch just off-center of the dome. He stepped from rock to white gold, a gleaming path that cut through a vast stretch of gleaming emerald spikes, embellished here and there with silver and gold creepers and exquisitely cut crystal blossoms. Up ahead a heap of white, gold, and brown stones lay across the path, but it would be easy to step over.

"Must be nice to be able to impress your girl like this," Vivi quipped.

Arthur snorted, then began laughing. He sagged against Vivi as the laughter rolled through him, shaking him free of confusion. Sure, it would be nice, one only had to be the god of the underworld to make it happen.

"Lost!"

The laughter died on his lips. The heap of stones ahead had just sobbed a long, drawn-out word. He remembered that word and he knew that voice. Breaking away from Vivi, he pelted ahead. It wasn't stones, it was cloth. Kay, in a heap of white cloth, lying stretched across the road.

"Lost!"

He tripped, falling on his face. He scrambled the last few feet to her on his hand and knees, stretching a hand out over her but stopping short of touching her. What if it was just a cruel trick? She couldn't really be back. Could she? Just like that?

"Lost!"

He wrapped his arm around her, pulling her close. She was real and warm and breathing. Her curls tickled his face and he almost sobbed himself.

Kay twisted in his arms, craning her neck with a frightened cry. Arthur released her, leaning into easier view. Thick tan scars marked her neck and tracked across her lips and chin. Her eyes flitted back and forth, her head jerking around in quick, sharp motions as she peered at Arthur.

Her lips parted, but she didn't cry out. Arthur lifted his hand to her face, fingers trembling as he brushed tears from her cheek. Blue eyes studied him, then flitted to some spot on the dome, then back to his face, never fully focusing. But she tilted forward, lowering her forehead to rest it on his shoulder. He wrapped his arm around her again, burying his face in her hair.

Broken things could be fixed, he told himself. Broken things could be fixed...

…

It was a new level of painful to watch Kay fall into Squire, see his arm close tightly around her, and hear her cries fall silent. He'd done it. He'd gotten her back. Would she have been able to get Lewis back if she'd been quicker to remember?

But no, he would never have survived the Shiker's attack without her memories grounding him. Plus Kay had immortality in her lineage, however that worked out, and Lewis didn't. Vivi couldn't afford to steep in false guilt. There was too much work to be done.

Paws and hooves echoed behind her, and she turned to scoop Mystery up into her arms. He nuzzled her cheek and Chloe butted her shoulder, albeit more gently than usual.

"Can't tell you how good it is to see you two without the pressure of the last few days," she murmured. "Mystery, I'm really going to need your help with Squire."

"As mentioned, I'll be staying with Arthur until things settle down some. But you are to come see me at least once a day until I can return to you. Doctor's orders," he said sternly.

Vivi cracked a grin. "Warm fur hugs and daily face licking, huh?" She ruffled the top of his head. "You got it. But stick close to him for me. I have to go home."

"Home?" Chloe asked. "But we're not ready, we're not all here yet."

Vivi set Mystery down. "I know, Chloe. But there's a big mess we left behind, and there's no way I'm letting Squire walk back into that mess, he has enough on his plate. So I need you to send me back ahead of everyone. Think you can do that for me?"

"I… I can try, Vivi-chan. Can I send you to Tome Tomb? It's… clearest in my mind."

Vivi smiled, putting her hands on either side of Chloe's muzzle. "See, look at that, you're getting the hang of how it works for you. Sure, drop me off there, I'll find my way back to Lance and get started."

Retreating a few steps, Chloe lowered her head and shut her eyes. The little stump on her forehead spat a few glimmering drops of light before emitting a steady glow. She lowered her head further, then raised it slowly, tearing a line through the air just over her horn. Grasping the edge with her teeth, she pulled it aside.

Vivi glanced down at Mystery. "Hey. Doctor M. Think I can do this and not send everything crash-n-burning?"

Mystery grinned, wagging his tail. "I don't think. I know."

"Say no more." Vivi ducked her head, sliding through the hole torn mid-air and tripping over a stack of moving boxes. Grunting, she picked herself up. "Right. This is home base because there isn't an actual home base anymore. Thank you, most understanding and empathetic landlord."

Someone yelped off to her right. This was quickly followed by a loud crack and a nearby bookcase bursting into splinters.

"Hey!" she yelled, diving for the floor. "Don't shoot!"

"Where'd you come from?" the voice demanded. "Don't move! Hands on your head!"

"What are you, the police?" she growled, but put her hands behind her head.

"Private security force, this place is off limits!" A flashlight beam played over her. "Hey! You're one of them!" Her arms were pulled down and cuffs cinched around her wrists. "Where's the rest of your team?"

Vivi twisted around, squinting at the light. "That's kind of complicated, and really I just got back here, and it would be great if I could talk to your person-in-charge because I'd like to start getting all this sorted out as fast as possible."

"No problem there. Man am I lucky." A crackle of radio static, and then, "Hey, chief! I found one of them. Down at the bookstore, looks like Vivi Kimura. Can I get transport down here, stat?"

A heavy sigh came through the static. "Torque, I know you want a promotion, but we're not the police, and it sounds really stupid when you call me chief and say things like 'stat.' I'll get a car down there in a few minutes."

"R-right, Doctor Membrane. We'll be waiting by the entrance."

Vivi's eyes widened and she yelled, "Membrane? As in… listen you low-level carp wiper, you get me to your leader in less than thirty minutes without the cuffs or you'll be charcoal dogfood by this time tomorrow, capiche? I've got friends on the other side coming back soon, and your boss is exactly who I need to see!"

…...

 **NOTE:** Two side notes. First, this is officially the longest fic I've ever written, surpassing the previous record holder, Zaygam of the Resilience Saga, which was written by me AND my friend together. I just broke the word count on a fic written by two people by myself. I'm excited. Second note. Some of the things going through Arthur's head right now? That sort of bending back on yourself over minute details... as I wrote that, I realized I was laying out a peek into my head when I'm "not well." I've done that with Vivi, but that is bleeding over into Arthur's thought processes. Everything comes into question, and nothing is too small for overscrutiny, and in the end you question if you're even capable of doing anything right or good or being a functional human being. And that's why the people you choose to lean on are so vital. Also, chapter title excerpted from the series Triumph Song: Try Everything by Shakira.


	30. Stuck In The Middle With You

Arthur opened his eyes, disoriented. A moment ago he had Kay in his arms. Now he embraced only empty air. Come to think of it, the Swarovski type cut-crystal cavern was nowhere to be seen either. He appeared suspended in empty space, kneeling on something that felt like a hard surface, but invisible to the eye.

Exasperated, he sprang to his feet. It didn't matter how many dimensions he had to cross, he wasn't about to lose Kay now. He'd just faced down a disgruntled gardening goddess, he would figure out where he was and how to get back to Kay.

"Callie, c'mon, I really need you to come out now. It was fun, but you know I don't like dark places."

Arthur blinked. It sounded like his voice, but he hadn't opened his mouth. Had he? He puts his fingers over his lips.

"Callieeee. Okay, fine, how about Mystery? Are you pulling one over on me? Stree?"

Nope. His lips weren't moving for sure. Curiosity flickered from the darker corners of his mind as the Shiker came to attention.

"Guys this isn't funny!" And out of the darkness stepped a mirror Arthur, complete with puffy orange vest, orange pants, and two real arms.

What the what?!

The mirror Arthur caught sight of him and froze, eyes wide. The dark curiosity shoved past Arthur and _you step forward, mouth curling in a grin. "Well well well, and here we thought there was only one Puppet. Tell me, how did you come to be two? We surely don't know ourselves and there is such curiosity between us."_

 _The mirror Arthur swallows hard, taking a step back. "Your eyes-"_

 _"Yes, yes, fascinating, we know all about our eyes but tell me about your arm. That is something we didn't think we could get back, how did you do it?"_

 _"Who are you?" he demands, finally planting his feet. So, this one has a spine. He has a look on his face you know the feel of from inside. The one where you know you face something greater than yourself but you refuse to be cowed, because it is not the most frightening thing you've faced. He may dislike the dark, but he is far from a coward._

 _Shall we tell him what we are? He is likely only an illusion, or some strange happenstance of universes colliding. Perhaps that explains where we are, Puppet. Perhaps the universe has coughed and we are lodged somewhere in the throat, waiting to be unstuck back to our own place._

 _"We are Arthur Kingsmen the humble mechanic, and Meynung Shiker, the mind drinker and murderer of him you call 'best friend.' At your service." It is satisfying to see his pupils widen, his color surge, and his hand go to his hip, as if he had a weapon there. Odd gesture, and he comes away with nothing. He is unarmed, though more armed than we by half. You giggle to yourself. "Indeed, more armed by half than we, how did you come by your arm again?"_

 _"A water spirit took a liking to me, what's it to you?" he snarls, oh look at that bite-back, most amusing. "I thought we put you away!"_

 _You roll your eyes. "This figment of a universe's lapse thinks we are the same across all spans of realms and worlds. Listen, Mirror Puppet, I do not know who accosted you in your cavern, but it was no Meynung Shiker. There is only one in any universe." You preen and_ Arthur gagged on the hubris, shaking his head in disgust. **Sorry** , he signed. **If I could shake him I would, but gods know when that will happen.**

The mirror Arthur's fighting stance relaxed, but his eyes were still narrow. "Something changed, I think that's you... me... the Arthur back in charge, but I don't read sign. Looks like the demon's got the voice, is that right?"

Crinkling his mouth, Arthur, nodded.

"I'd have died before letting this happen," he said flatly.

 _You howl in derision. "Listen to the hubris! As if he knows, Puppet! Believe you me, Mirror, this is as unfortunate for myself as it is to him. If he could rid us of me, he would, and if I could rid us of him, well." You grin. "That remains a distinct possibility."_

Arthur's mechanical arm arced in an uppercut, snapping his own head back. It hurt, but he was not about to let the Shiker get away with even hinting that he would go down easy.

"Okay, obviously there is some really messed up stuff going on over there, I'd really like to get back to my own dimension if you don't mind. I have a hyperactive water spirit and an overprotective kitsune who are probably worried sick right now."

Arthur gestured in frustration. He had people to get back to as well, but it wasn't like he knew how.

He tensed at the sound of footsteps, turning his head as a musical rumble mused, "It got dark rather quickly. Did we pass the whole day already? Surely the stars would be out by now."

 _The Mirror clutches the weapon at his hip that is not at his hip and mutters, "What now?" to himself, but you can smell the situation before you see it step into the light, and you are doubled over in laughter and pain all at once._

 _For into view steps a heavyset creature that resembles a goat standing on hind legs with wickedly curved horns of an astounding length. Heavyset, you note, but nowhere near fat, it is a bulk of muscle well honed over the years under that fur coat, and the eyes are old and intelligent. This creature's soul is not fully its own, augmented with yet another variation of your own soul, which leaps to the forefront of all control shouting, "What the hell?" as soon as he sees all of us._

 _Oh, Puppet, it is too much. This is amusing to me, but you cry for this? I scent no discomfort from this other soul of yours, nor his host, they seem well blended and in harmony, not striving. Stop sniveling to yourself. You are not some cruel possessor, you seem to be an aid of some kind. Disgusting._

 _"WHY?" the Mirror shrieks._

 _"Gods alone know," you sigh. This is beginning to be tiresome, quite suddenly. Is this the way of it forevermore, then? Eternal iterations of the same being having travelled different paths? Perhaps next we might meet a vampire, or a half-fish._

 _You instantly regret this thought, for next an arrow plants itself by your feet and a lilting voice shouts, "Dark void or no, hand over your purses and satchels. As a merry man and by Robin of Loxely, I will have-"_

 _You turn and begin walking. The void would be better than seeing yourself outfitted in orange tights and touting a bow, and there_ has _to be a way back somehow._

Give me a siren and muddled god-feuds any day over this...

… **.**

 **Note:** If you haven't guessed by now, HAPPY APRIL FOOL'S DAY. I skipped last year, was too exhausted and depressed, but this is a tradition for me and I am loathe to pass it up a second year in a row. This year's April Fool's chapter features MULTIVERSE ARTHUR with a crack shot at the fact that I have woven Arthur into classic lit and mythologies TWICE now (not counting the Undertale crossover) and hence a poke at Kingsmen as one of Robin Hood's very own. No worries, lads and lasses, I've no true intent to go that route. Yet. So, if you're wondering, no. This chapter is not canon and never happened. Skip straight to the NEXT chapter for actual happenings. Chapter title excerpted from Stuck In The Middle With You by Stealers Wheel.


	31. Together Soon

Aji settled on Lewis' arm and he could feel her. It wasn't as if Vivi was intangible to him, but it always felt like he held her through multiple layers of plastic wrap. In contrast, he experienced every minute shift and curl of Aji's toes, the talons held as loose as she dared while still keeping a perch on his forearm, which he curled inward just enough to bring her face to face with him. He had no doubt those talons, unlike any earthly weapon, could pierce him through and do lasting damage.

It was harder to tell where her eyes were pointed now, but it was easy to read the ducked head and hunched wings. He lifted his other hand and stroked her head. Gentle. Soft. Every feathery trace slid under his fingertips in full tactile detail.

"I'm sorry," she whispered. "I couldn't keep my cool."

His own skull sank in toward his neck hole. "I didn't either. And I had a choice." He drew her close to his chest and cradled her, carefully. "I'm sorry you had to go through that. This shouldn't have happened for a really long time."

"Well. This is the only way I can start fixing things." She leaned against him, shutting her eyes. "I'm going to miss you. I'm sure I'll have some business back home eventually, but I don't know when and how often."

"I'll miss you too. Find me if business brings you our side."

"Never far from Miss Bluevi, right?" she joked, her voice cracking slightly. "You'd better believe I'll find you."

He straightened, and she carefully clambered up to his shoulder, perching there as he hovered out of the room and down the hall. Mystery had left a few minutes prior with Chloe, they wouldn't be too far ahead.

"She'll forgive you. Eventually." Aji nudged the side of his skull. "Kay. She adored you."

Lewis' fingers curled toward his palms. Kay had no sooner drawn breath than she'd locked up on sight of him and used that breath to begin screaming. He'd retreated out of sight, and she'd begun a mournful cry of "Lost!" but no longer screamed.

"I lost her trust, Aji. I burned that bridge hard."

"You'd have to burn a lot longer and harder to lose that bridge totally. It's probably missing a lot of planks and has no handrails, but it's still there."

"I hope so."

He stopped as the tunnel spilled out into a crystal cavern. No surprise that he'd come to a different room. Hades seemed to enjoy shaping his realm to suit his whims. Up ahead, Arthur knelt on a white path, clinging to Kay like she was about to vanish. Chloe and Mystery lay nearby, waiting. Hades had just entered on the opposite side of the cavern, bearing a linen-wrapped body in his arms. Persephone came close on his heels, holding Dulcie by the hand and speaking quietly to her. Teles followed at some distance, her head bowed.

Aji nudged Lewis' cheekbone once more before spreading her wings and gliding off. Hades turned, setting the body in Teles' outstretched arms, before extending a wrist for Aji to light on. Aji kept her head straight, eyes forward.

Vivi was not there. Panic sliced through Lewis as he realized she was the only one missing.

"She went on ahead." Hades eyed him. "I will overlook her rude departure. We have business to attend before you go, though it would be best if you return to your anchor before you are noticed."

Of course Hades was right. Lewis dissipated, collecting himself back into the locket that still hung around Dulcie's neck. No sense sending Kay into another round of hysterics, he could listen just as well from where he was.

Arthur didn't even lift his head to acknowledge Hades as the god stood over him.

"I will have eyes on you, occasionally, to ensure you stay in your own realm. You will not return here unless you are ready to stay. Is that understood, Arthur Kingsmen?"

The barest nod in response. For the first time, Lewis wondered how soon that would be. Where there had only been a few silver strands in his hair, now there was an even mix of silver and yellow and his face sagged around the eyes and mouth. Just stress, Lewis assured himself. Shock and trauma could do that, and Arthur would be given every opportunity to recover shortly.

Persephone came to stand by him as well. "Your account with my husband is settled, but my debt to you is unfulfilled. I will consult with the Morai and the Horae, and we will see what can be done for you."

Arthur tensed and Lewis couldn't help sharing his apprehension. The best gift would be assurance that there would be no more interference in their lives.

And now Hades looked to Chloe. "I cannot restore what was lost to you. Your horn will regrow. It seems to have a good start already. But there are herds you can join here. There is a herd in my realm, admittedly hardier for the desert overhead, but healthy. Zeus hosts a few herds himself, and there is a legion of other gods or goddesses who would heartily welcome you on their land."

"Because they're afraid of me." Chloe stepped away. Hades said nothing and Chloe shook her great head, the mane tossing back and forth. "No. I have a new herd already. I'm going with them."

Persephone spread her hands. "We cannot allow this. We cannot protect you from the consequences of living in the mortal realm. You belong here, child."

Chloe turned her back on Persephone, her ears laid back. "Both my herds tried harder for than anyone here ever did. My new herd will help me live there."

"Child," Hades began, but Chloe cut him off.

"You can't stop me. I'll find my way back every time you try. Demeter was scared of me because my horn can cut her, right? That's what you told me before the fight. That means I can cut any of you. No wonder you keep herds," she sneered, "right where you can watch them all the time. We're not sacred. You're just scared we'll be turned on you by someone. That's why the punishment is so high. Hurting us means war between yourselves, doesn't it? So don't worry, Heika, I'm going far, far away where you don't have to worry about me running you through or getting my horn stolen by a rival god." She spat the last line. "My new herd will do better taking care of me than anyone here, because they're not afraid of me."

Lewis pulsed with pride. The frightened little foal was growing up. Mystery pulled up next to Chloe's front hooves, pawing at her leg gently. She didn't pull away.

"So. You have decided. As you said, there is no stopping you." Hades turned to Teles. "But what of you? You have the right to remain, but none has claim on you now."

Teles kept silent, face turned down to the body she held. Aji continued to stare ahead.

"You could stay here, Teles." Persephone laid a hand on her arm. "You deserve rest. Here there is peace and beauty all around, and your sisters to keep you company. Here you can heal."

Slowly, Teles shook her head. Her voice, when it came, was barely audible. "I think, my Lady, not yet. There is too much I have to set right first. I will try."

Lewis wondered if there were enough soup kitchen servings in the world to make up for the things she had done. But at the same time, he wondered how many of those things he still held against her, and which ones he'd already allowed to slip through his fingers. His eyes drifted back to Arthur. Thanks to Arthur, he had more time to figure that out, among many other things.

"I want to go." Chloe stamped a hoof, crushing several emerald spikes under her hoof.

Arthur raised himself, slowly pulling Kay up with him. A stiff breeze could have knocked them over, for all their leaning and clinging. Mystery must have thought so too, as he abandoned his dog form to support them with human arms.

"Fare well, Teles." Persephone touched Teles' cheek. "I will be glad of your company, and glad to see you rest, when you deem it time."

Chloe jerked her head, tearing a glimmering line in the air before her and pulling it wide open with her teeth. Arthur, Kay, and Mystery hobbled through first, followed by Teles. Dulcie ducked behind Chloe, her hands around the locket until their mother was out of sight. Then Chloe whickered at her, and Dulcie walked toward the gateway, stepping through into a messy bookstore. A few moments later and Chloe followed, tripping over boxes and shelves in a flying tangle of limbs.

"Welcome back," Mystery snickered. "We're going to have to work something out for you. Can't go galumphing around town like that, now can you?"

"Urusai. Baka zura."

As Chloe worked to stand again, Lewis watched the portal close behind them, keeping his eyes on the one spot of red in the cavern until that, too, vanished.

….

Fixing the death glare on Torque was decidedly more effective than fixing it on Charon, boatman of the river Styx. It was also a good deal more satisfying to watch him squirm, backing farther against the wall and occasionally knocking on the one-way mirror behind him.

The room he'd brought Vivi to was straight out of a forensic show for the good cop bad cop interview routine, with cement walls and an empty table with a basic chair to sit in. But despite the fact that he refused to remove her cuffs, he made a miserable bad cop backed up against the one-way mirror, knocking for backup.

She lost track of time, glaring like that, but the door finally swung open to admit a tall man in a long black trench coat. Goggles covered nearly the entire upper half of his face, but she'd know that zig-zag trademarked hair scythe anywhere.

"Get out of here, Torque," he grumbled. "Go monitor the Devorrah cage. Just don't look them in the eyes, remember last time."

"Y-yes sir." The relief was borderline comical as Torque made a dash for the door and Vivi almost cracked a smile.

"Idiot." The doctor pulled out a seat across from her and leaned his elbows on the table, folding his hands under his chin.

"You employed him," Vivi retorted.

"Yeah. There's a certain satisfaction in handing the kids who pushed you around their paychecks when they're all grown up. So I keep him around. Now. How long have you been dead?"

Vivi raised an eyebrow. "Dead? Do I look dead, Dib?"

His cheeks pinched in a little. "That's an awful lot of familiarity for someone in cuffs."

"And that's an awful lot of assumption about one's status of existence for someone as studied in the paranormal as you," she shot back. "If I'm dead, why am I still in cuffs? I should be able to slide right out."

"If you're not dead, why did you trip every single ectoplasm alarm on the way to this room?" he demanded.

"Maybe because I'm hanging out with ghosts, you ever think about that, mister your-paper-is-the-most-refreshing-take-on-the-psychology-of-the-paranormal-I've-seen-in-far-too-long Membrane!"

"And maybe-wait, what?" He faltered.

Her glare split into a grin. "Remote TA to a crappy 12th grade Psych class at a local high school. You were just about to wrap up your doctorate, right? You passed along your email so I could poke you for more info off and on, but you got pretty busy shortly after and stopped answering. No biggie, I understood, but man has it been a trip since then."

She wished he wasn't wearing goggles, but guessed they were keeping his eyes from popping out of their sockets. "You're _that_ Vivi?"

"Been a while, huh?" She leaned forward, offering her wrists. "Can we skip the interrogation bit? I'm more than happy to talk to you, but this is too much."

He hesitated. "I really do need to know why you tripped our sensors before I let you loose."

Vivi sighed. "I'm not sure, Dib. It could be my boyfriend died but is still hanging around and was stuck possessing me for a while. That's really all I can think-" she was cut off by a guilty sounding chirp by her ear. "Oh. I forgot about him. Ah, Dib... we're kind of in over our heads... I really need your help." She reached up by her neck and pulled down a simpering Deadbeat, cradling it gently. "This little guy is what used to be a ghost. He probably tripped your alarms. Harmless, though. I think. Mostly."

Dib stared at the Deadbeat in silence, hands splayed on the table. After a few minutes, he managed, "How far 'in over your head' are you? I knew you were connected to the Pepper family, but Vivi... that family is dangerous. You have no idea-"

"No, actually, I have every idea and you don't. And that's why I'm here." She squared her shoulders. "Look, you've been chasing the paranormal since you were a kid, so you know the risks a lot better. I got in later in the game and my group got burned bad. Yes, I'm square in the middle of the Pepper family mess, and what's left of them are about to come back to town. Dib, you have connections. Everyone knows all the stuff your Dad did for the world, the Membrane name means something. I'm asking you for help."

Dib's mouth tightened. "My Dad's dead, Vivi."

"Yeah, I know. And I'm sorry. But I am blatantly asking you to pull strings with his name."

"I take it you have something that makes it worth my effort? And a damn good reason to ask something like that?"

"Yes on both counts." Vivi stroked the Deadbeat's head, and it cooed, nestling in her arms. "Now, I gotta get everyone to agree to this, but I'm pretty sure I can. Here's my thought. You get to study our situation. We'll cooperate. We'll answer questions. We'll let you run tests and observe and take notes to your heart's content. And there's a lot more than Sirens to this situation, you'll put yourself ahead of everyone on the field by leaps and bounds."

"And what do I need to do to get this scoop?" Dib hedged.

"Rule numero uno is we're all together in this working together, not researcher-to-labrat. What happened to Mr. Pepper was not okay."

Dib sighed. "Look, I wasn't thrilled, but-"

"No buts, I don't care about buts. You should know better. I researched you for classwork a few times, y'know. And someone who reportedly claimed to be saving humanity multiple times shouldn't be using 'em as unwilling test subjects."

Dib turned his head a bit, and Vivi knew she'd hit a nerve. "I'm pretty sure I can get everyone cooperative, but if I know Mrs. Pepper, she'll have nothing to do with weapons research from here on out. You gotta find some application that's beneficial to humanity, or you won't hear a single note from her."

"What are your other terms?" Dib asked, fidgeting with his gloves.

"You gotta make it so the Peppers can re-integrate at some point."

"I can't make a mass murder charge vanish!" Dib protested.

"You don't have to. Aji Pepper is dead, the murder charge stands against her name. But it would be great if whatever information there is about the unusual circumstances surrounding those deaths is downplayed. Sonic weapon, and all? Not good for the rest of the family's re-integration."

"I suppose you want me to make the recordings of Mrs. Pepper vanish too?" he asked. "She was captured at the mental institution and there are a lot of people there who are having trouble returning to work, or recovering further depending on who they are, because of her songs."

"Yeah, I want those gone. I'm sure Mrs. Pepper would be happy to work with you about helping those people. Nobody died, right?"

"No, oddly enough."

"Not odd at all, she's much older and has more control and she wasn't raging mad. Look, we're all really worn out from a really nasty situation and we need a place to lay low. If you can give us a safe place and pave the way for all of us to re-enter society without having to change identities, we're happy to work with you."

Dib tilted his head to the side. "You drive a hard bargain. What about your employer?"

She grimaced. "Don't really have one at the moment, he kind of bit the dust."

"I see. Well, throw yourself in as a personal assistant and I'll call it a deal."

Her eyebrows shot up. "Wait, what?"

He leaned back, ticking off points on his fingers. "Isn't faking enthusiasm for the paranormal? Check. Isn't trying to harvest some kind of cell sample so their kid turns out to have the famed Membrane brilliance in their genetics? Check. Isn't a rabid fangirl who sent in a hundred applications just to sit in the same room and breathe air with me? Check. Isn't intimidated by the Membrane name? Check. Isn't an alien in disguise trying to assassinate me? Check." He dropped his hands and leaned back. "Plenty of other stuff can be taught, but it's harder finding a combination of those traits than you might think."

Vivi choked back a laugh. "Okay, but you _have_ to tell me some of your attempted-to-hire-them stories, did someone really stalk you for childbearing samples?"

He snorted, flourishing a tiny key and gesturing at her cuffs. "Let's just say I have had to petition for dozens of restraining orders, and a private security company deals with our facility's waste. Now, let's talk details."

…..

 **Note:** WHAT A RIDE. That is the end of Torn Apart, my longest fanfiction to date. Keep your eyes peeled for the next installment, Flaws! Chapter title excerpted from You're Not Alone by Erutan. For the record, I was working this Dib in BEFORE I knew about the Zim movie, but now that i know WOOOOOOOOOO GET READY FOR THE NEW WAVE OF FANS, BABY.


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